Eternal Love
by foreverXabby
Summary: -Sequel to Love Me Forever- Hailey Ellis thought that everything would be peaceful and drama-free, now that she was a vampire. she thought everything was over. little did she know, everything was just getting started. co-written by purpleXorchid. Damon/OC
1. change

**Disclaimer: I own nothing recognized. **

**Chapter one**

**Change**

*Hailey*

"_Please," I begged. "Please, just listen to me-"_

"_You cheated on me!" he roared, pressing his sword deeper into my skin, drawing blood. "I will not be made a fool of by my own wife!"_

_I gritted my teeth in pain, just as I saw two small figures out of the corner of my eye. The two young boys were hiding under the bed, looking at me in horror and fear. I doubted that the fully understood what was happening to me._

_I felt a strong need to protect the boys, to keep them safe from the man who currently had his the tip of his sword digging into my chest. I was splayed out on the floor, a nasty bruise slowly forming on the side of my face where he had hit me._

"_Please," I whispered, knowing that it was hopeless. Now my only goal was to keep those boys safe. He would kill them without mercy once he was done with me, I just knew it._

_When he wasn't looking, I waved my hand at the bed and the blankets fell over it, concealing the boys from view. I didn't want them to see me get murdered._

"_You are a disgraceful whore," he growled. _

_Then without another word, he dove the sword into my heart._

I shot up gasping, a hand placed over my heart. No, there wasn't a sword-inflicted wound there. I was fine. Besides, a sword through the heart wouldn't kill me. not unless it was a wooden dagger. I was a vampire now, after all.

Damon stirred from his sleep next to me. "Hailey?" he mumbled, reaching out for me. I smiled slightly and kissed him lightly.

"Go back to sleep, I'm fine. Just a nightmare, that's all," I soothed him. ever since Damon had gone a day thinking I was dead for good, almost a year ago, he had been very protective. I knew that he didn't ever want to feel that way again, he never wanted to lose me again.

"Another one?" Damon sat up, more alert now. He raised an eyebrow and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"It's weird," I said, frowning slightly. "I swear, I know the people that are dying- or at least some of them- I just can't place their names."

"Do you think they're visions?" he asked. Even though I was a vampire now, I still had my powers. I was glad, because despite Victoria insisting that they were a curse, I was attached to them, reliant on them. I couldn't imagine not having telekinesis and visions.

I shook my head. "No, the deaths happened a long time ago, centuries ago. I can tell by how the people talked and what they were wearing."

"Then what are they?" this was the seventh nightmare I've had, and Damon was frustrated and confused as to why I was having them. It was keeping me from sleep, and though I didn't really need sleep anymore, I was better off when I got some hours in. I was more powerful, less thirsty, and less cranky.

"Just nightmares, I guess," I answered. I wish I knew what they were, I really did. I had had almost a year of peace. No murdering tomb vampires, no crazy Katherine hell-bent on killing me, no bitchy moms who had actually killed me. just a year where the only drama was trying to control my thirst when in a crowd of people- something I had mastered. With Damon and Stefan's help, I had learned self-control and was now capable of going out in public without ripping somebody's throat out. I was proud of myself. But now all the peace was over and done with, and I had these nightmares to worry about now.

"You don't actually believe that," Damon said, seeing through my lies like usual. It bugged me, how well he knew me.

"No, I don't," I agreed, before getting out of bed. "You go back to sleep, I'm going to get some blood."

I walked quietly in the dark boarding house. It was only three in the morning and I didn't want to wake Stefan. After I got myself a glass of blood, I grabbed my notebook from a bookshelf and curled up on a couch. I sipped my blood as I added to my growing list of things I planned to do during my forever with Damon.

_Buy an island_

_Have sex on the beach_

_Visit every country in the world_

_Rip Katherine's heart out _

"I would be happy to help you with having sex on the beach."

I frowned at Damon as he sat down beside me and pulled me into his arms. "I thought I told you to go back to sleep," I muttered as I rested my head on his bare chest.

"Well, I thought you could use some company," he said simply, wrapping his arms around my waist and stealing my notebook.

"You want to go skydiving? Really?" Damon rolled his eyes. "That's not a cliché thing to have on a 'things to do before I die' list."

"First of all," I said, snatching my list away, "It's not a 'things to do before I die' list, because I don't plan on dying. Ever. Secondly, I think you misread it. I want to go skydiving- _naked."_

"Now that's something I support you doing," Damon said and I laughed. he kissed my neck, his fingers edging under the shirt I was wearing. With a smirk, I used my new speed and strength to pin Damon against I nearby wall.

I kissed him as I slowly undid the buttons of my shirt, bent on teasing him. with a groan against my lips, Damon pinned me against the floor and practically ripped my shirt off. as our remaining clothes went flying off, all my thoughts of my strange nightmares went away.

_**~EL~**_

"So, are you ready for our senior year?"

I groaned as Elena and I walked towards the Grill. we were planning to meet Caroline there for lunch. "I can't believe that you're making me go to high school," I muttered. The way I saw it was that I had forever now, if I wanted my high school diploma, I was capable of getting a hundred. But since this was possibly my only chance at going into 12th grade with Elena, I allowed her to talk me into doing it.

In fact, Elena was the only reason why Damon and I were still in Mystic Falls in the first place. I wanted to see the world, to complete some of the things on my list, but my human best friend who wasn't completely sure about becoming a vampire was holding me back.

"Well believe it. We're going to have fun, Hailey," she insisted.

"Yeah, the doppelganger and the fairy-turned-vampire," I joked before frowning. "What would you call me now? A fairpire?"

"Hailey Ellis, the first fairpire to ever exist," she joked as I opened the door to the Grill. a guy walked out of it at the same time and he bumped roughly into me.

"Sorry," he muttered, pushing his dark black hair out of his eyes. I frowned at him as he walked away. he looked familiar to me somehow, though I had never seen him in my entire life.

"Hailey?" Elena called as I watched the guy walk to an old, classic motorcycle. He was probably in his early twenties, was kind of tall, was on the pale side, and was slightly muscular. He looked like the classic bad boy, the motorcycle and tattoos on his arms completing the look.

"He was pretty hot," Elena noted as we walked into the Grill. I shrugged. I already had a bad boy.

"Miss Gilbert," I chided teasingly. "You already have a boyfriend."

"Yeah Elena, if anyone needs a boyfriend, it's me."

Caroline walked up to us and frowned slightly at her. "I'm sorry that things didn't work out between you and Matt. Do you need me to kick his ass?" I asked and she laughed slightly.

"Almost a year ago we were at each other's throats and now you're offering to kick your friend's ass because I broke up with him," she pointed out as we went to grab a booth.

I shrugged again. "A lot of things change in a year," I argued. I went from a psychic to a fairy to a vampire in a couple of months.

"Very true," she agreed.

As Elena, Caroline, and I talked about our upcoming senior year, I let my mind drift back to the guy from earlier. Why was my mind stuck on him? why did I find him so familiar? It wasn't that I had met him before, because I was sure that I hadn't, it was more like a connection we had.

"Hailey? You there?"

"Huh?" I asked, coming out of my thoughts. "Sorry, I'm just… tired," I sort of lied, since I could've definitely used some sleep, but motorcycle guy was also distracting me. I wanted to know more about him, about why I found him so god damn familiar.

"Come on, we need to brainstorm ideas for Senior Prank Night," Caroline told me and I sighed. Of course I would be roped into some stupid tradition by my peppy friend who was involved in everything.

"Sorry Care, my forte is ass kicking, drinking, and being awesome, not pranking," I said with a smirk. Elena rolled her eyes at me. I had definitely became more arrogant when I turned into a vampire.

Caroline laughed. "I'm glad that some things don't change. Hailey Ellis is just the same as she was last year," she said, taking a sip of her drink.

That was wrong, though. I wasn't the same. Since the beginning of the last school year, I had found out about the supernatural, found out I was fairy, fallen in love, almost died too many times to count, and was killed by my mom of all people. I had changed, a lot, but I liked to think for the better.

Still, since Caroline was in the dark about my numerous amount of changes, I just smirked and shrugged. "What can I say? Don't fix what isn't broken," I joked.

I played with the daylight ring on my finger, next to my black onyx ring. Damon had managed to get some witch I didn't know to make it for me, because being stuck inside during the day would really suck. I still wore my onyx ring- it did save my life after all.

"I need bourbon," I said out loud suddenly, standing up to go get some. Alcohol helped curve my thirst, giving me a good reason to drink it in large quantities.

Elena sighed. "No getting drunk, Hailey," she told me exasperatedly.

I pouted. "Buzz kill," I muttered, walking away to go get my drink.

I was still an alcoholic and Elena was still a buzz kill- some things really didn't change.

_**~EL~**_

A/N: yay, I finally got the sequel up. Only took me a month. Big thanks to purpleXorchid who's co-writing this with me.

reviews are inspiring!

~Abby :)


	2. boredom

**Chapter two**

**Boredom **

*Hailey*

"I'm bored."

One would think that being a fairy-turned-vampire would make things interesting, but yet I still got bored. When the tomb vampires were hell bent on killing us, granted it was dangerous, but at least life was never boring.

I sat down in Damon's lap and wrapped an arm around his neck. it was his job to entertain me. Damon smirked slightly and set his glass of bourbon down on a table before pinning me beneath him on the couch.

"Well, I'd be happy to entertain you, Miss Ellis," he said before his lips were on mine. in a blink of an eye, I had Damon shirtless and on the floor. There had always been a struggle for domination between us, but when I turned it became a lot worse. It made the sex hotter, though.

He growled, kissing my neck as he struggled to get me out of my jeans. I pinned his hands to his sides, smirking as I brought our lips together again.

"Nope, it's my turn," I told him. Damon ignored me, and not even a second later, I was against the wall only in my bra and panties, my legs around his waist.

"Please, it was your turn the last two times," he growled into my mouth. I smirked in response, my hands going to his hair.

"What can I say? I'm selfish."

Our fight for control continued for a few more minutes. Damon had me on the table, his fingers inching forward to unhook my bra. Before he could, I had him on the couch, kissing him fiercely. Eventually we ended up on the floor, me on top. He finally decided to give in to me, if only to get me naked sooner.

"Hey- oh, god."

I was still in my bra and underwear, and I grabbed Damon's shirt and slipped it on before turning ton glare at Stefan. "You know, if I could not walk in on you two every five minutes, that'd be great," he said sarcastically.

"Maybe if you learned how to knock, we wouldn't keep having this problem," I retorted. I was still on top of Damon, still pinning his hands above his head so that he wouldn't try to take control again.

"Hailey, you're in the living room- there's no door to knock on," Stefan said, slightly exasperated.

"Hailey and I can't help that we're adventurous. Why should our sex life be confined to our bedroom?" Damon said with a smirk as he easily broke my grip and sat up. I might've been a telekinetic fairy, but he was still a lot older than me- therefore, a lot stronger than me.

"I don't want to know where you two have sex, nor do I care. I just don't want to walk in on it," Stefan replied before leaving the room.

As soon as Stefan was gone, I wrapped my arms around Damon's neck and kissed him. "Let's pick up where we left off. we can go to our room- or, even better, the shower. Shower sex is awesome," I said, my hands unbuttoning my shirt.

He chuckled. "I love how horny becoming a vampire has made you," Damon said, before pulling away from me. "Unfortunately, I have a council meeting that I'm seriously considering ditching. But you should keep those thoughts in your head for when I get back."

I pouted and made no move to get off of Damon. "Why do you have to go to a stupid, boring council meeting when you can stay here and have hot shower sex with me?" I asked seductively.

He groaned. "Stop trying to seduce me," he complained.

"It's not seducing if you already want me," I informed Damon cheerfully before kissing him.

Damon was torn and I knew it. After a few moments of arguing with himself, he pulled away from me. "I really have to go to this meeting, Hailey," he said regretfully.

I groaned. "Why?" I whined.

"Because bodies have been dropping in the town next to us," he explained as I moved off of him.

"So we have company?" I asked, frowning slightly.

"The bodies being dropped were vampires."

"Oh." And it suddenly all made sense to me. "You think hunters are coming to Mystic Falls."

"Yeah, and I'd rather they not. So I need to find out all the details about these hunters and try to nip the whole thing in the bud," Damon said, standing up and holding out his hand for his shirt.

"Fine." I sighed and handed over his shirt. Instead of getting dressed, I stayed in my underwear, so that Damon would know what he was missing. He groaned and I smirked smugly.

"You're so mean," he muttered and I laughed.

"I guess I'll just have to wait impatiently for you to get back," I muttered before smirking again. "Try not to think of me naked when you're at your boring council meeting."

"Oh, don't worry. That'll be the only thing on my mind," he said casually, shrugging on his jacket. "I love you."

Ever since Damon went a day thinking I was dead, we had made a habit out of saying 'I love you' every ten minutes. I just didn't want to die again without him knowing it. "I love you too," I said with a small smile, before slowly dressing.

"Wait," Damon said, stopping me as I went to go to our bedroom.

"What?" I asked, pushing my dark wavy hair out of my face.

"You could come with me," Damon offered.

"No, I couldn't. I'm not a council member," I said, my eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"But you could be. You're a founding family member, and you're eighteen," Damon argued.

"But I don't want to," I said slowly. "I literally cannot think of a worse time."

Damon shrugged. "Fine. I'm just saying that if you're bored, you can join the council and I'll teach you a thing or two about how to deal with vampire hunters."

I bit my lip. I didn't want to join the council, but I was bored out of my mind. "Why the hell not?" I sighed.

Damon smirked as I walked up to him and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It's not that bad, really. Just grit your teeth and think of me naked," he said lightly.

I smirked slightly. Maybe the council meeting wouldn't be that bad after all.

_**~EL~**_

At first, the mayor refused to let me on the council. He and his wife had been friends with my mom. But after I argued that I was the only Ellis alive, and that the Ellis family needed to be represented, not to forget that I was a legal adult and knew all about vampires, he finally agreed to let me on the council. I was easily the youngest at the meetings- perhaps in history.

I was right, though. The meetings were so boring, I was sure that I was going to die from boredom. A few times I fell asleep and Damon had to kick me awake. After we were finally dismissed, I had to wait for Damon, who was talking to Sherriff Forbes about the vampire killings.

"Oh, that was so boring," I moaned as we walked out of the Sherriff's office.

"On the bright side, we found out more about the hunters," he said.

"Can you tell me what we found out? Because I was asleep half the time," I said, unabashed.

"Yeah, I noticed," he replied dryly.

Suddenly, I heard a heartbeat walking towards us, and I stopped talking. My eyebrows furrowed as the motorcycle guy from yesterday walked towards us, towards the sheriff's office. I got a better look at him as he walked past Damon and I. suddenly, a feeling engulfed me when he accidently bumped into me. it was a strange feeling, one that made me frown. It was a feeling of familiarity, like I knew him. I could tell that he felt it too, because he frowned at me before continuing to walk into the sheriff's office. The door shut behind him.

"Hailey." Damon tugged at my hand, but I raised a finger to silence him. I focused my hearing on the sheriff's office. For some reason, I was curious as to why motorcycle guy wanted to talk to her. I blamed my amazing gut feeling.

"_-I need to know where William Ellis is," _he asked bluntly. His voice was deep yet smooth.

"_I'm sorry to say, but Will passed away three years ago. Car crash," _the sheriff replied solemnly.

"_He's dead?" _motorcycle guy asked, sounding shocked and crushed at the same time. My eyebrows furrowed and I frowned. Why was he asking about my dad?

"Hailey."

Damon's voice brought me back to the real world. "What?" I asked, a little dazed.

"Care to share what's running through that crazy mind of yours?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know… it's just that, I know that guy, the one who's talking to the sheriff," I explained vaguely.

"Where did you meet him?" Damon asked, still sounding confused.

"Nowhere. I've never met him in my life. It was more of a feeling. I can't explain it. He's just familiar to me," I said, frowning. "He was asking about my dad too."

"Why?" Damon asked, just as confused as I was. probably more.

I didn't know who motorcycle guy was, why he was so familiar to me, or why he was asking about my dead dad, but in was going to.

"I don't know, but I plan to find out."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Lady Syndra, OBSESSEDwithPOWERS, KimmyWSmith, AudreyDarke96, Rejected-Starr, colleenrawr, Samantha meyers, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	3. bloodlines

**Chapter three**

**Bloodlines**

*Hailey*

"_You cannot do this!" I screamed at the woman in front of me. "You cannot kill our family!" _

"I _have the Power now, brother. I can do whatever I please," she replied coldly. "Now the question is, are you with me or not?"_

_I didn't answer. I didn't know how to answer. She was my sister, I would do anything for her, but she was planning to kill our family. I couldn't let that happen. I suddenly regretted helping my sister get the Power, helping her expand her powers. If I hadn't, our family wouldn't be at risk._

"_I will only kill the ones that refuse to join us," she soothed me. "We can be so powerful together, brother. No witch, wolf, or vampire will stand in our way. Everyone will worship us. Fairies will be the strongest people in this world. We will be like gods to the humans."_

_She had told me this before, and I had fallen for it before. But not now. All our hard work to find the Power had damaged her mind- it had driven my closest sister to insanity. I knew that if I didn't agree to help her, she'd kill me without a blink of the eye._

"_Our family could be like gods, you say?" I said finally. She smiled and nodded quickly. I smiled shakily, my heart pounding in my chest. "Alright. I am with you, sister. Until the end." _

"_Until the end," she repeated, smiling. "Now, I have something I need to take care of. One of our sisters needs to die for her disloyalty-" she cut off suddenly when she was attacked by a wild dog. _

_I took off running, needing to find one of my siblings, to warn them of her madness. I had made a terrible mistake, but it wasn't too late to fix it. Suddenly, I clutched my head in pain and fell to my knees._

"_So, you are against me, are you brother?" her cold voice rang behind me. with her all her new power she would have no problem fighting off the dog I had attack her._

_There was no time for me to speak, for me to try to redeem my actions. Before I could even open my mouth, she stabbed me in the throat with the knife in her hand._

I gasped, my eyes popping open as Damon shook me awake. I was breathing heavily has I placed a hand over my throat, making sure that there was no wound there.

"Another one?" Damon sounded exasperated as he laid back down on our bed.

"It was the same dream I first started with. They're repeating," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I rested my head on Damon's chest and he hugged me to him. that was when I realized that I was soaking wet.

"I was trying to wake you up for five minutes. You were convulsing, and I even tried dumping cold water on you. Nothing worked," he explained.

"It was like I couldn't wake up until it was over," I whispered. I didn't know what to make of these dream visions. They were like flashbacks, like the ones Victoria gave me before she possessed me. I didn't share this with Damon, though. It would only make him more worried.

What was weird, though, was that all seven flashbacks were about different people. The latest one was starring a man, while four others were about women. The other two were also about men. I didn't know what to make of them.

"Do you want me to go get you some blood? or some bourbon?" Damon asked, knowing that I never went to bed after one of my dreams/visions/flashbacks.

"Bourbon would be nice," I mumbled. He left, and I instantly regretted him leaving, even though he'd be back in less than a minute. I always felt extra vulnerable after a dream, and Damon leaving me alone in the bed didn't help.

Ellie purred and jumped up onto the bed, as if sensing my distress. When I first became a vampire, she wouldn't go anywhere near me. she had adjusted, though. "So, familiar," I started, scratching her behind the ears. "Do you have any wise familiar advice to offer me about my unnerving visions?"

"I still can't believe that you talk to your cat." I didn't even jump when Damon came back into bed and handed me my drink. Ellie didn't hiss and run away when he joined us. Ever since I died, she had become much more comfortable with him.

"Animals are better listeners than people sometimes. Their only downfall is that they can't talk back, though that's what makes them such good listeners in the first place," I said, taking a sip of my bourbon. The familiar burn calmed me.

I rested my head on Damon's chest and Ellie curled up at my side. I knew only one way to stop having my unsettling dreams- not to dream in the first place.. So, when Damon eventually fell asleep again, I stayed up. My visions were driving me to stop sleeping, but I didn't care, as long as I could stop having those horrific visions.

A tear escaped from my eye as I finished my drink. Because the most unsettling thing about my visions weren't the visions themselves. It was the pain I felt after them.

Because watching those people die in my visions, it was like watching family die.

_**~EL~**_

"Hailey, you look ready to pass out."

I hadn't slept in two days, and I hadn't had a vision in two days. The good thing about being a vampire was that I could go longer without sleep than a human, but my sleeping habits were going to catch up to me eventually. I was exhausted and cranky and my brain was slower than usual.

"What are you talking about? I'm not even a little tired," I lied. I took a gulp of my coffee- it was my fourth cup.

"Damon told me that you're not sleeping." Elena frowned sympathetically at me. "Is it because of your visions?"

We were at the Grill, and I was scanning the crowd for motorcycle guy. I hadn't seen him since I found out that he was looking for my dead dad. I sighed and looked into Elena's big brown eyes. "Yeah," I admitted.

"Are they really bad enough that you're not sleeping?" she asked.

"It's not the visions themselves, Elena," I said. "It's how they make me feel. How the people dying in them make me feel."

"Feel like what?"

"Like… like I'm losing my family. I feel like the dying people in my dreams are my family," I admitted. I stifled a yawn and finished my cup of coffee.

Elena went silent as she processed what I had told her. "Maybe you're reliving the deaths of the fairies before you, the other ones of your bloodline," she said finally.

I shook my head. "About half of the people in my visions were men."

"Then I don't know, Hailey. Maybe they'll just go away eventually," she said hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe," I said doubtfully. But until that happened, I was going to stick with my plan. It was working for me so far.

"Only three more days until our senior year begins," Elena said with a smile, changing the subject.

"Oh goodie," I said sarcastically. Sitting through history was definitely going to make me fall asleep.

"Caroline wants us to help with senior prank night tonight," Elena said and I groaned.

"I'd rather stake myself," I said bluntly.

"Hailey…" she said in a warning tone.

"Don't worry, I'm going to show up. For Caroline." It was funny, how last year we were enemies and I hated her. now she was one of my closest friends.

"Matt isn't talking to her," Elena said softly.

"Of course he isn't. she broke his heart. When you broke up with him, he avoided you like you were an STD," I said bluntly.

"Thanks for comparing me to a sexually transmitted disease, Hailey. I really appreciate it," she said sarcastically, and I offered her a sleepy smirk.

"Do you want to know about motorcycle guy?" I asked suddenly, remembering that I had yet to catch her up on him.

"Motorcycle guy?" Elena asked, confused.

"That guy you thought was hot, that ran into me a few days ago. He had a pretty awesome motorcycle," I explained.

"What about him?"

"So, Damon peer pressured me into joining the council, and I 'overheard' MG talking to the sheriff- and by overhearing I mean eavesdropping- after a meeting. He was asking about my dad," I explained.

"So?" she asked, clearly not getting the point.

"So, I need to know why he was asking about my dad!" I explained. "Plus, I have this feeling about him… like I know him somehow. But I've never met him in my entire life."

Suddenly, I saw motorcycle guy walk into the Grill. he made a beeline for the bar. I smirked at Elena. "Speak of the devil."

Elena sighed as I stood up and walked over to motorcycle guy. I sat down next to him, but he didn't spare me a glance. "A glass of bourbon," I ordered from a bartender I had compelled to serve me free drinks.

Motorcycle guy raised his eyebrows at me. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" he asked skeptically.

"Shh," I said, putting a finger to my lips exaggeratedly, then I offered him a charming smile. "I'm Hailey."

He sighed, looking like he thought he was beneath a young, alcoholic girl. "Jace," he said finally.

"Hi," I said, forcing myself to be a cheerful, friendly person. Forcing myself to be Caroline. "You don't live here, do you?"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "How'd you know?"

"Small towns." I shrugged. "Everybody knows everybody here. so why are you here?"

"Looking for somebody." Jace clearly didn't like how pushy I was, and only offered me vague answers.

"Who?" I pushed.

"Why the hell does it matter to you?" he snapped. I frowned, though I would've reacted the same way.

"Because maybe I know who you're looking for," I muttered. "Jackass," I breathed.

He sighed. "I doubt you would."

"Try me."

Jace was fed up with me. "Fine. Do you know William Ellis?" he asked, finishing his drink.

My frown deepened. "Yeah, I do actually," I answered. Now I had him exactly where I wanted him.

He looked surprised. "How?"

"He's my dad," I answered. "Or was, technically."

Jace's eyes widened, and that's when I noticed they were a vivid green. A familiar green. He tossed a couple of bills onto the bar and stood up. "It was nice meeting you, Hailey," he said in a way that made it clear he thought the opposite.

"Wait," I said, standing up. "How do you know my dad?"

"Doesn't matter," he said gruffly.

"Yes, it does," I snapped back, grabbing his arm. His eyes widened at my strong grip before narrowing.

"How do you know my dad?" I repeated, so close to just compelling it out of him.

"Do you really want to know?" he snapped, clearly pissed.

"Uh, yeah," I said impatiently, letting go of his arm.

"He's my dad!" he snapped. "And you're my sister."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: Samantha meyers, jacquline, SomebodyWhoCares, and Lady Syndra for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	4. prank night

**Chapter four**

**Prank night**

*Hailey*

"Wh-what?" I stuttered, my eyes wide. No. no way.

Jace ran a hand over his face, calming down. "We're brother and sister, Hailey," he said quietly, as if regretting blurting it out like that.

I shook my head stubbornly, in denial. "No, I'm an only child," I insisted.

But it all made sense. Why he was looking for my dad. Why I had a feeling of familiarity around him. we even looked alike. Same wavy black hair, same green eyes, same pale skin, same nose. We looked alike. We looked like my dad.

"Hailey, I'll explain everything-" he started to say, but I was already running away.

It took all my control not to use my vampire speed and give myself away. Elena called after me, completely confused by the whole situation. Jace just sighed, as if he expected me to run away. as soon as I was alone in an alley, I ran home.

"Hailey?" Damon called to me, confused as I stormed passed him in the living room and up to our bedroom. I slammed the door shut and jumped onto our bed. I laid flat on it, my mind whirling as I processed everything.

I had a brother. More than that, I had family. Actual blood-related family. I considered myself an orphan after my mom died. Hell, I considered myself an orphan _before _my mom died. But now I wasn't the only Ellis anymore. _I had a brother._

I closed my eyes, feeling exhaustion overcome me. I couldn't sleep, though. I'd get another dream vision, which were more like nightmares. I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay awake. But staying awake only made me face the fact that I had a brother. An older, motorcycle riding, jackass brother.

Suddenly, I wasn't alone in the bed. Damon wrapped his arms around me and I gave in and collapsed against him. "What happened?" he asked, confused and worried.

"I talked to motorcycle guy," I mumbled against his shirt, my eyes falling closed on their own accord.

"You mean that guy at the police station? How'd that go?" he asked, pushing my hair out of my face.

"He's my brother," I muttered bluntly, eyes still closed.

A beat of silence as Damon took in this information. "Huh. I honestly didn't see that one coming," he said finally.

I forced my eyes open and looked up at him. "That's all you have to say?" I asked, and Damon raised his eyebrows at me.

"What do you want me to say, Hailey?" he asked.

I laid back down in his arms. "I don't know… that he's lying?"

"Do you think he's lying?" Damon asked me.

I closed my eyes again. "No, I don't. he doesn't seem like a liar. Plus, we look alike."

"But you look like a dead fairy from the 11th century," Damon said.

"Yeah, but I also look like my dad. And Jace looks like my dad. The more I think about it, they really look alike." I sighed again. I didn't know how I felt about this whole brother thing. I was just too shocked and exhausted to process anything.

I had so many questions too. Did my dad know about Jace? If he did, why didn't he tell me? did this mean my dad cheated on my mom, or was it before her? Does Jace know about fairies? About the supernatural?

"He's a carrier," I blurted out suddenly, opening my eyes.

"What?"

"A carrier," I repeated. "The only living carrier left in the Ellis family. He carries on Bella's line. I thought that it died with me, since I can't have kids anymore- not that I would want any- but her line is still alive. Jace carries on the telekinetic/vision fairy gene."

"So if your half-brother has kids, there might be a Hailey look alike popping up in the next few centuries?" Damon asked, trying to lighten the mood. "You'll be able to see yourself."

I groaned. "It was weird enough with Victoria, and I never met her in the real world."

"Imagine, you'll be able to teach the future generations of fairies all the wisdom you've learned," Damon said, throwing an arm around my shoulders.

"I'll tell them to never let a crazy bitch named Victoria into their heads," I said, smiling slightly. Damon's plot to get my mind off of Jace was working.

He smirked at me. "I think that's just common sense, Hailey. Something you lack."

I hit his arm. "Says you. You wouldn't know common sense if it bit you in the ass," I said, laughing slightly. It quickly turned into a yawn.

Damon's expression softened. "You need to sleep Hailey."

"I don't want to," I mumbled stubbornly. "If I do I'll have another nightmare vision."

"You need to sleep," he repeated. "We can deal with your father's illegitimate lovechild after you're well rested."

I was so tired, I couldn't even argue. I just snuggled up to Damon and fell asleep in his arms. I didn't have a nightmare vision, though. Damon made sure of that.

_I found myself on a beach I've never been to. it was beautiful, though. The sand was white, the water a deep aqua, the sky blue, no clouds in it. The sun was bright. I was in a rather revealing bikini, sitting down in the warm sand. _

"_Well, this isn't the dream I expected," I said, turning around to face Damon. he was in the clothes he was wearing in real life._

_He shrugged. "I figured that you couldn't have one of your nightmare visions if I was controlling your dreams."_

_I smiled at him. it was so sweet of him to do this, so that I could get some sleep without having a nightmare vision. "Thank you," I said sincerely._

_He shrugged it off. "No problem. Besides, you look really hot in that bikini." He smirked at me._

_I smirked back. suddenly, I tackled him to the ground, and sat on his waist. In one fluid motion, I ripped his shirt open and buttons went flying. I placed my hands on his chest and kissed him. one of his hands rested on my hip and he kissed me back._

"_Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked when I pulled away._

"_Dream beach sex? Sounds hot." Damon smirked again before pinning me beneath him. he was older than me, but I had telekinesis so it was a fair fight._

_Even in my dream, we still fought for dominance._

_**~EL~**_

I was well rested and didn't have a nightmare vision, thanks to Damon. after I woke up, we had real sex and I got to show him how grateful I was. we didn't talk about Jace anymore though. But now that I was well rested, I was able to think more clearly.

"Are you ever going to tell me why those dreams of you freak you out so badly? Enough that you stopped sleeping?" Damon asked as I got ready to go to Senior Prank Night. I was dreading it, but I'd go for Caroline.

I bit my lip. "Because… it feels like the people in my visions are my family, and watching them die is like watching Elena die, or Stefan die, or you die," I explained. Though watching Damon die would feel a lot worse than what my nightmare visions made me feel, and that was saying something.

"Maybe they are. Maybe you're having weird flashbacks of deaths of your ancestors," Damon said, and I frowned slightly. That was actually a good theory.

"Maybe," I said, pushing my bangs out my eyes.

"Now, what are we going to do about your half-brother?" Damon asked and I sighed.

"My plan is pretty simple- avoid him and hope I never see him again," I said, sitting down on our bed.

He raised an eyebrow. "I hate to sound like Elena, but I don't think avoiding situations and hoping that they solve themselves has worked well for you in the past. Besides, he's your brother," he argued sensibly.

"So what? He's my brother, but so what? Just because you're blood doesn't make you family. My mom and I were blood related and she shot me," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"And then I killed her. but that's not the point. He's your only family, Hailey. You have to at least give him a chance," Damon said.

"That's not true- you're my family. Elena and Stefan are my family," I mumbled.

"You know it's not the same."

I groaned and fell backwards onto the bed. "My dad cheated on my mom with his mom," I muttered after a few silent moments.

Damon raised his eyebrows. "How do you know?"

"Jace isn't over 22 years old. Even if my parents weren't married when he got together with his mom, my parents dated for five years before they got married, and I'm almost positive that they never took any breaks. My dad cheated on my mom," I repeated.

I took a deep breath. "I mean, I don't feel bad for my mom. At all. I don't even really blame him. but it makes me think less of him, for cheating. And what if he knew about Jace? He never told me about him, which he should've. He never paid any child support. It just makes me think that he wasn't as great of a guy as I thought him to be."

"Is that why you don't want to get to know your brother? Because you're afraid that your dad wasn't as perfect as you thought he was?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. And I'm just… freaked out. Still in shock. Both. This morning, I was an orphan. Now I have a brother I never knew about. It's a lot to process," I said.

"You're going to give him a chance though, right?"

"I don't know. When I talked to him before, he was a bit of a dick," I said, sitting up. In his defense, I was annoying him. besides, I was very capable of being a class A bitch when I felt like it. Just like Damon was capable of being a major jackass.

"But yeah, I think I will. At least to get the answers to my questions," I said. "But first I'm going to pretend to be a normal high school teenager and pull some really lame pranks at school."

I kissed Damon before I walked out of our room. "Just be careful," Damon called to me. "We don't know when those hunters are going to show up here."

I nodded, not really taking his warning to heart. When I got downstairs, Elena was waiting for me. the first words out of her mouth were "What happened at the Grill today?"

I sighed. "Long story, Elena. I'll tell it to you in the car," I said, walking past her and outside to where my baby waited for me.

I'd deal with my half-brother troubles tomorrow. Now, I had to focus on being a normal teenager. Even when I was human, I had never been good at that.

_**~EL~**_

"You have a half-brother?"

"Shh!" I shushed Elena, as we grabbed buckets to fill with water and set up over classroom doors. "I don't want everyone to know."

"Wait- wouldn't of Victoria have known if there was another Ellis?" Elena asked suddenly. "I mean, she was trying to end the bloodline, after all."

"Not necessarily, no. she wasn't God. She made almost the same mistake in 1864, she could've made it again," I argued.

"I just- I can't believe it," she repeated, her eyes wide.

"I've barely come to accept it myself," I muttered, as Caroline ran up to us, her face flushed with excitement.

"Isn't this fun?" she asked, grinning.

"Yeah, I'm having the time of my life," I muttered. Elena shot me a look, but Caroline knew me well enough to know when I was being sarcastic. She just rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you showed up and you've managed to keep your sarcastic, smartass comments to a minimum. That's more than I was hoping for," she said.

I smirked smugly at Elena. "See? This is why I like Caroline more than you. She keeps her expectations for me low," I said and Caroline laughed.

Suddenly, Matt and Tyler walked past us, and Caroline and I both went silent. Matt had been giving Caroline the cold shoulder ever since they broke up, and things had never been the same between Tyler and I since he drunkenly kissed me all those months ago. Our relationship had become more strained because the kiss made me realize that if I had never met Damon, there was a very real chance that Tyler and I would've hooked up eventually.

"Hey Ty," I said, forcing a smile. He nodded back and Matt avoided Caroline altogether. She sighed when they walked away.

"He hates me," she muttered, deflating.

"No, he's just hurting from you dumping him," I assured her. "I'll talk to him later, tell him to get the hell over it."

Caroline managed a small smile before running off. I never even got the chance to tell her about my brother. Elena and I walked into a random classroom, and set about rigging the buckets to the door.

"Where's Stefan? He is a senior, after all," I asked, pulling up a chair.

"I don't know, he was supposed to meet us here." Elena bit her lip in worry as I easily lifted a heavy bucket full of water over my head.

Suddenly, pain filled my head and I dropped the bucket. Water flooded the floor, and I fell to the floor, clutching my head as an all too familiar pain hit me.

"Hailey!" I barely heard Elena call my name as I shut my eyes tight.

Becoming a vampire hadn't helped my visions at all. if anything, it had made them worse. It took longer for the pain to go away and the pain was more intense. I just hugged my knees to my chest and waited for the vision to come.

_Stefan and Damon were in the living room, Damon nursing a glass of bourbon. They were making small talk as Stefan shrugged on his jacket, getting ready to go to the school. Suddenly, a sharp noise coming from the foyer alerted the brothers._

_Both of them stood up and trained their eyes on the doorway. Suddenly, a vervain bomb was thrown into the room. it went off, and though it didn't hit Stefan or Damon, it distracted them. _

_Before Stefan could defend himself, he was tackled to the ground, a stake shoved into his stomach. Damon just managed to snap the neck of the human on top of his brother before he was injected with vervain._

_Damon groaned and fell to his knees. He caught one last glance of Stefan being shot in the head before the vervain knocked him out._

I gasped and sat up straight. I stood up immediately, and practically ignored Elena as I paced, trying to come up with a plan. Finally, Elena had had enough.

"What was your vision about, Hailey?" she snapped, agitated.

"Stefan and Damon were attacked, Elena," I said bluntly. "They were taken by vampire hunters and now I have to go rescue them."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: KimmyWSmith, AudreyDarke96, Kari10, Lady Syndra, Synyster.A7X, colleenrawr, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Reviews are appreciated :)

~Abby!


	5. the hunters

**Chapter five**

**The hunters**

*Hailey*

Completely ignoring Elena, I ran home quickly, hoping that my vision hadn't come true yet. But when I ran into the living room of the boarding house, all I found were knocked over furniture, blood, and a scent. A human scent.

I committed the scent to memory and then ran my hands through my hair. How was I going to find them? Were they even still alive?

No, I couldn't think that way. Stefan and Damon were still alive, they had to be. The hunters would keep them alive if they thought that there were other vampires in town, and that they would go looking for them.

I was going to walk right into their trap.

My phone started ringing, breaking me from my thoughts. "Hello?" I asked, distracted.

"_Hailey! You just can't say that Damon and Stefan were taken and then run off! what happened? I need to know," _Elena demanded.

"Vampire hunters took them, Elena. That's what happened. But I'm about ninety percent sure that they're still alive," I said firmly, my eyes going to the half empty glass of bourbon on the table. Damon's. without a second thought, I walked over and finished it.

"_Only ninety?" _Elena sounded so worried that she made me seem casual and indifferent. Inside, I was worried and scared, but I couldn't give into my fear of losing Damon. I had to focus and be strong so that I could save them.

"Well, it's better than zero," I said. "I'm going to get them back, Elena. Just stay at the school. You'll be safe there."

"_No, I'm going with you," _Elena said, sounding determined.

"No way in hell. I can't keep you safe, keep myself alive, and get Stefan and Damon at the same time. It's not safe for you, Lena. You're human- remember that."

"_I just can't let you-" _she started to say, but I cut her off.

"Yes, you can. And you will. I'm a badass fairy vampire. Hunters are no match for me," I said lightly to calm her down. In reality, I had no idea if I could take hunters. But I think that my telekinesis would give me a serious edge.

"_Hailey," _she sighed, clearly annoyed.

"Elena," I mocked her, smirking slightly. Then I sobered. "I'm wasting time. Just stay at the school. I'll call you when it's over."

She sighed again. _"Are you going to kill them?" _she asked quietly, bringing up a sore topic between us.

I hadn't killed anyone. Yet. But that wasn't because of super self-control on my part, that was because Stefan and Damon hadn't let me out of their sight in the beginning. A few times I had lost control and fed on some humans at a party or a bar, but I was always stopped before I could kill them.

My humanity was still on, and I knew that it was because of Elena and, ironically, Damon. Elena was the biggest reminder of my humanity, and my love for Damon kept me from going dark side and ripping out throats with my teeth. In the beginning, it had been instinct to turn it off. but eventually, Damon had coaxed me to leave it on. I hadn't turned it off since.

I didn't know how I'd feel about killing somebody. It didn't really matter to me that Damon had killed, and the few times I had fed on somebody I liked it. But there was just something about it, a feeling I felt after feeding, like it was just _wrong. _But I knew that if it came down to it, if I had to take out a few hunters to get Stefan and Damon back, I'd do it without a second thought.

"I don't know, Elena," I said finally. "I'm not going to go in there planning to kill them, but I'm not making any promises."

I knew that this didn't sit right with Elena. Sometimes I felt like she didn't understand what vampires were. Predators. We drank blood, and every single one of us has killed at least once. And we usually liked it, too. It was just a stroke of luck, that I hadn't killed yet. Sooner or later, I would, though.

"Just stay at the school," I repeated. "I'll call you later."

I hung up on Elena before she could argue anymore. I put my phone back in my pocket and took a deep breath.

I had vampire hunter ass to kick.

_**~EL~**_

With help from my amazing gut feelings- which were really like my sixth sense- I managed to track the scent of the hunters to a cabin on the outskirts of town. I leaned against a tree in the night, studying the cabin and the people inside.

I counted four so far, but there might've been more. It would be hard, getting inside the cabin without getting a stake in my heart, and it would take strategy. I was launching a rescue mission by myself and I wasn't the best fighter in the world. Damon had taught me a few things, but I relied on my telekinesis. Hopefully it would come through for me again, like all the times before.

My biggest problem was getting inside the cabin itself. I needed an invitation. My best hope was to somehow trick a hunter into inviting me in, but I wasn't arrogant enough to think that they were stupid. The hunters were smart. My last resort would be to lure the hunters outside and kill them all, but even that was dangerous and nowhere near fool-proof.

I took a deep breath and got into character. I messed up my hair and clothes to make it look like I had just been hiking through the woods for hours, and then made my way to the front door of the house. I knocked hesitantly, pretending to be a human teenager stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The door swung open to reveal a man in his mid-twenties. He was decent looking and eyed me. a slow smirk crept to his lips. Perfect. The more he wanted to get into my pants, the better chance I had at getting in his house.

"Can I help you sweetheart?" he asked, unsuspecting that I was a fairy vampire on a rescue mission.

"Yeah, you can, actually," I said, pretending to be flustered. "You see, I was going to meet up with my friends for girl's night, but then my car broke down a few miles back. of course, I know _nothing _about cars and my cell's dead. But then I remembered that there was a cabin here, so instead of walking all the way back to town, I thought that, maybe, I could use your phone?" I asked, running a hand through my messy hair and biting my lip.

"Of course you can, sweetheart. Come on in, and you can call your boyfriend," he said, opening the door wider for me.

Huh, maybe vampire hunters were dumb. Or, at least, suckers for damsels in distress. I smiled sweetly at him and stepped into the house. "I don't have a boyfriend," I lied, my smile turning flirtatious.

His smirk grew wider. "Right this way, sweetheart," he said, gesturing towards the kitchen. I followed him, looking around for the others out of the corner of my eye.

"What's your name?" he asked as he handed me the phone.

"Hailey," I replied, running my fingers over the numbers. "Yours?"

"Chris," he replied with a wink. No, Chris wasn't a stupid vampire hunter, just a horny one.

"Chris," a voice barked, and I turned around to face a crabby looking brunette woman. "Who's this?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Chill, Danielle. This is Hailey. Her car broke down, so she's using our phone to call a tow truck."

"You invited her inside?" she screeched, glaring at me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm sorry. Is this a bad time? I can just leave-" I went to set down the phone when Chris grabbed my arm.

"No, sweetheart. You're fine. Just make your call," he said, before glaring at Danielle. "You and I need to talk in the other room."

As soon as the two left, I smirked to myself proudly. I played the "stranded human" part well. I looked around to make sure that I was alone, before I slowly made my way to a random door. I opened it to see that it led to the basement. That seemed like a logical place to keep vampires.

I ran down the stairs so fast that the two hunters guarding Stefan and Damon didn't hear me. I hid behind a stack of boxes, listening to the low groans of Damon, as he came back to consciousness.

I peeked up to see that Damon and Stefan were tied to chairs. Two guards stood in front of them. Damon's eyes flickered open, but Stefan remained still. I noticed a bullet hole in his forehead. That was going to be a bitch to get out.

Damon's eyes met mine and I smiled softly, soothingly, at him. I mouthed "I love you" at him and blew him a kiss before standing up. I had no time to waste.

The first hunter didn't even see me coming. I ran to her so fast that she only realized I was there when I smashed her head against a wall, knocking her out.

The second hunter raised his gun to shoot, but I waved my hand at it and it flew away. his eyes widened just before I kneed him in the stomach, sending him to his knees. Then I kneed him the face, knocking him out.

I turned to Damon, and reached for the ropes binding him, when my skin sizzled. "Vervain," he whispered in a hoarse voice.

I pursed my lips before focusing on the ropes, and untied them telekinetically. I crouched down and kissed Damon softly, cupping his face. "Are you going to be okay?" I asked him quietly. We needed to hurry up before Chris and Danielle noticed that I was gone and put two and two together.

He nodded. "Get Stefan," he said, looking as if he was trying to find the strength to stand up. I nodded and went to untie Stefan.

Neither of us heard the door creak open, the footsteps down the stairs. It was only when I heard Damon shout "Look out, Hailey!" when I realized that we had company. But it was too late.

I didn't even have time to turn around when Chris shoved his stake into my heart.

I knew what dying as a human felt like, but not what dying as a vampire felt like. Pain and fear rushed through me and I fell to the ground. I barely registered Damon screaming my name as I crumpled to the floor.

From what I'd witnessed, vampires died quickly. Yet, seconds passed and I was still alive. How was that possible? He had staked me in the heart, I could still feel it in my chest. yet, I wasn't dead, and I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be.

Chris hadn't bothered to watch me die, already moving on to kill Damon. I knew that Damon thought he lost me again. He wouldn't have it in him to fight back- even if he was strong enough to. I stood up on shaky legs and pulled the stake out of my heart. I expected to fall over and die at any moment, and I was extra careful with my movements.

My wound healed, and I took a deep breath, accepting that I wasn't going to die. I turned around to see Chris raising another stake above Damon, ready to kill him. fueled by my anger caused by almost dying, I let go of my control over my thirst. My eyes turned red, the veins under them darkened, and my fangs extended. Before Chris could stake Damon, I jumped on his back and ripped his throat open with my teeth.

There was vervain in his blood, but it was very deluded, so it didn't do much damage. I dropped Chris' body on the ground and wiped my mouth. My first kill. I had killed my first human. I couldn't find it in me to care, and that wasn't because my humanity was turning off. it was because Chris almost killed me, Damon, and Stefan. I killed him before he could kill me.

"You're alive," he whispered, eyes wide. "I thought he got you in the heart."

"He did," I replied, waving my hand at Stefan's ropes so that they were broken.

"Then how are you not dead?"

"I don't know," I said, finally looking Damon in the eyes. "I really don't know."

I knew that Danielle would be showing up soon, but I couldn't help my haywire emotions. I almost died, and I had made my first kill. I kissed Damon quickly after I helped him stand up. "I love you," I mumbled against his lips.

Chris' stake pierced my heart. How was I still alive?

_**~EL~**_

"Here, I got you some Bambi blood," I said, tossing Stefan a bottle of animal blood. Elena was next to him, not willing to let him go anytime soon.

"Thanks," he said, practically chugging the entire thing. He needed blood to heal, and he refused to drink people blood, so I offered to go get him some animal blood.

I sat down in Damon's lap, and his arm snaked around my waist. He also hadn't been willing to let me go since I almost died. Damon had killed the two hunters I had knocked out, and I had snapped Danielle's neck before we left. Then we burned the cabin to the ground. We were pretty sure that there were no hunters left to track us and try to kill us again.

Now that my anger had subsided, I was feeling more guilty for the two people I had killed. it was a kill-or-be-killed situation, though. That was what I tried to explain to Elena, but she still had a hard time looking me in the eyes. I think it was finally sinking in that I wasn't human anymore. I was a vampire now.

But if I was a vampire, how come I didn't die when I got staked in the heart? That's what we were discussing now.

"And you're sure that the stake pierced your heart?" Damon asked, finishing his glass of blood.

I nodded. "Positive."

"Wait," Stefan suddenly said. "I know why you didn't die, Hailey."

"Care to share?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're a vampire," he said. "And you're also a fairy."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now why didn't the stake kill me?" I asked.

"You don't get it, Hailey. A stake in the heart kills a _vampire, _a regular vampire. You're not a regular vampire. You're half-vampire, half-fairy. you didn't die because the stake wouldn't kill the fairy part of you. The only thing that would do that is-"

"-The knife," I finished, my eyes wide. The knife was the weapon that Victoria had tried to kill me with. It was the only thing that could kill a fairy for good. "But that's at the bottom of a very deep lake."

"So, Hailey can't die? She can't be killed?" Elena asked, her eyes wide too.

"No, I can't," I answered. Damon didn't seem to mind that I was truly immortal, that the only thing that could kill me was rusting in a lake. If it meant that he would never lose me, he didn't care.

Being a fairy/vampire hybrid meant that I could never die. The only question was if there were any other strings attached to being a hybrid. I had a feeling that being truly immortal was only the tip of the iceberg.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: SomebodyWhoCares, Kelsey, Lady Syndra, KimmyWSmith, and colleenrawr for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	6. day drunks

**Chapter six**

**Day drunks**

*Hailey*

"Come on, Hailey. Time for school."

I groaned and buried my face into Damon's chest. "I'm sorry, the Hailey you are looking for is still asleep. Please try again in two hours or so," I mumbled, half asleep.

"Hailey, wake up. It's time to get ready for school," Elena repeated.

Damon groaned. "Take her, if it'll make you go away," he mumbled, pushing me out of the bed.

I hit the ground with a groan. "No. early- bad. Sleep- good," I mumbled, closing my eyes and curling into a ball on the cold, hard floor.

Elena sighed. "Hailey, seriously. Get. Up."

I groaned and stood up. "I don't like you very much right now," I told her bluntly, rubbing my eyes.

"Well, I'm not too fond of you either at the moment," she retorted, already walking towards the door. "You have five minutes or I'm dragging out of here by your fangs."

I glared at her retreating figure, before making my way to the closet. I decided that I didn't care if I looked like a hobo, so I just through on some sweatpants and a concert tee. I put my hair up into a messy bun and grabbed my backpack. But before I left the room, I pulled the curtains back, letting sunlight into the room.

Damon groaned and covered his face with my pillow. "Why?" he moaned, as if the sun burned him.

"If I don't get to sleep, neither do you," I replied, stretching.

"Ugh, you're so mean," he muttered, sitting up.

"Last night was the first night I didn't have a nightmare without you invading my dreams, and then Elena had to go wake me up for shitty school. Excuse me if I'm extra bitchy," I replied, kissing him quickly. "Love you."

"Whatever," he mumbled, still grumpy.

I walked out of my room and down the stairs to the kitchen. I walked right past Stefan and Elena and made a beeline for the coffee. I poured myself a big cup in a traveler's cup, and then followed Elena out of the boarding house.

I wasn't very excited for my senior year.

_**~EL~**_

"Come on, Hailey, we're seniors! Can you at least manage a smile?" Caroline asked as we, along with Elena, walked to math class.

"The best I can offer you is a snarky comment with a smirk," I said, pushing my bangs out of my eyes.

"I'll take it," she said perkily.

"Well, the one good thing about senior year is that one more year and we're free from the hell that is high school," I said. I tried to smirk, but I was too tired. "Sorry, I don't have enough energy to smirk."

"Take a nap during calculus," Caroline suggested.

Elena shot her a look. "Caroline!"

"What? We never do anything important the first day. Plus, Hailey is already surly to begin with. When she doesn't get her proper ten hours of sleep, she turns into the wicked bitch of the west," Caroline said, and I nodded in agreement.

"All correct points, Lena. I'm going to catch up on my zs in math," I said. Elena sighed but didn't argue.

When we got to math, I laid my head on my sweatshirt that I was using as a makeshift pillow, and waited for sleep to come. I wasn't completely confident that my nightmare visions were gone for good, so I wasn't too upset when I couldn't fall asleep.

Suddenly, I felt intense pain in my head, the kind that I got when I was having a vision. The pain overcame me. I gritted my teeth to prevent myself from screaming out. I felt like my head was going to explode.

_I was bloody and bruised. She lay a few feet from me, as beat up as I was. only, the knife was in her hand. slowly, she stood up and made her way to me. I stayed still on the ground. She stood over me, trying her best to remain calm and poised and unaffected. But I wasn't fooled._

_She was shaking and her eyes were filled with tears. She couldn't kill me. we were sisters, after all. plus, she was weak. So, so weak. Her powers were the strongest out of all of us, but she was the weakest. Her compassion would be the death of her. no matter what I did, she would always see me as her big sister._

"_Do it," I taunted her, by voice hoarse. "I dare you. Do it. Do it! DO IT!" I screamed, my eyes wild. _

"_No, you won't," I continued, rolling my eyes. "You're so weak. A pathetic excuse for a fairy. you call me pathetic? You are the pathetic one, not me!"_

_She gulped slightly, the knife dropping from her fingers. "No, I cannot kill you. I will not sink to your level. I am better than you," she said firmly._

_Slowly, she turned her back and walked away. as quick as an injured person could, I sat up and grabbed the knife. I stood up and ran towards her retreating back. I raised the knife, ready to stab her, when she suddenly waved her hand and the knife went into my throat. Hot, searing pain washed through me, as I gurgled on my own blood. I sank to my knees, and I was dead before I hit the ground._

"Miss Ellis?"

I opened my eyes, my head still pounding. I hadn't fallen asleep, but I still got a nightmare vision. I wasn't safe from them, even when I was awake.

The teacher stared expectantly at me. I ignored her, stood up, grabbed my stuff, and I made my way to the door. I had to get out of there. I needed to drink. "Miss Ellis!" she shouted after me. I ignored her and walked faster.

I found myself at the Grill, sitting at the bar. My phone was constantly vibrating, but I didn't feel like answering it. I wished I knew of a way to stop my nightmare visions. I would do anything at this point.

"It's not even noon and you've already broken out the whiskey?"

I sighed. Of course now of all times he would choose to show up. I looked my right to see Jace, a glass of scotch in his hand. I rolled my eyes and tossed back the rest of my drink. "Like you're one to talk," I said gruffly.

He smirked. "We're both sad daytime drunks- must be a family trait."

I closed my eyes. I still wasn't used to calling him my brother. I doubted that I would ever be. "Shouldn't you be at school?" he continued.

"Stop, okay?" I said bluntly.

"Stop what?" Jace raised an eyebrow at me.

"Stop this big brother shit. You're not my big brother," I said a bit harshly. I barely saw him flinch.

"Actually, I am," he muttered.

"Just because we're blood doesn't mean we're family. You have to earn that," I told him.

"Trust me Hailey, I know that better than you ever will," Jace told me and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, I doubt that," I muttered. Did he have a mother who hated him? who called him a slut too many times to count? Who kicked him out of the house? Who shot him dead? I don't think so.

"So, let me earn that," Jace continued.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Why are you even trying?" I asked.

He was silent as he thought. "Because… you're the only blood I got, Hailey," he said quietly.

It was silent as we both drank. I considered his words. he was the only blood I had too. I had to give him a chance. I had to give my brother a chance. He was putting in an effort, and that was more than I was doing.

"About last time," Jace said suddenly. "I was being a dick. And I- I'm- what I mean to say-"

"Don't worry about it," I said with a wave of my hand. "I'd love to watch you struggle to stutter out an apology, but I was being an obnoxious ass. It's cool."

I signaled the bartender and smirked at Jace. I wanted to see how my brother could handle his alcohol. "Two shots of tequila," I ordered, grabbing a salt shaker.

Jace groaned. "Tequila is evil, Hailey. I don't know if you'll be able to handle it," he said.

I smirked at him. "You can say a lot of things about Hailey Ellis, but 'she can't handle her alcohol' is not one of them. I've been drinking for years," I said proudly, though it wasn't something to necessarily be proud of. "But, you know, it's cool if you can't stomach it, Jace. We can always get you one of those cute drinks with an umbrella and fruit." I smirked at him.

Jace rolled his eyes as our shots showed up. "Hailey, I've been drinking since you were playing with Barbie dolls," he told me, sprinkling salt onto the back of his hand.

"I never had Barbie dolls. I preferred dinosaurs- they were more badass," I replied, doing the same.

At the same time, Jace and I both licked the salt off of our hands, tossed back the shot of tequila, and then bit into our limes. I made a face as the tequila hit me, but other than that I was fine.

I looked at Jace, who looked fine. He ordered us cups of coffee, to help sober us. He could handle his liquor. It made me respect him more. "So, do you want to do this sibling bonding stuff here or can we go get some breakfast?" I asked.

I expected him to argue that it was almost one in the afternoon, but Jace just shrugged. "Sure. There's never not a time for pancakes," he said, tossing a few bills on the table. I went to pay for my drinks but he raised a hand. "No, I got it _lil' sis." _He smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes at him but grinned slightly. He could handle his alcohol, liked breakfast no matter the time, and paid for my drinks. Maybe having Jace as my big brother wasn't such a terrible thing after all.

**A/N: **thank you: MissCaityGrace, Samantha meyers, David Fishwick, AudreyDarke96, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	7. the pyromaniac

**Chapter seven**

**The pyromaniac**

*Hailey*

"What's your favorite color?"

Jace rolled his eyes at me. "Really Hailey?"

"Hey, we gotta start from somewhere," I defended myself. "What's your favorite color?"

"Green," he replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "Yours?"

"Purple," I answered, tapping my foot as we waited for breakfast. "What's your last name? is it Ellis or your mom's?"

"My mom's," he replied. "Andrews."

I nodded. I expected as much. "How many times have you been arrested?" I meant it as a joking question, but I got a real answer.

"Three," he replied. "You?"

My eyebrows shot up. "None. You've been arrested three times?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. You drink underage at the local bar- you cannot tell me that you've never been arrested."

I shook my head. "I can be very persuasive when I want to be," I said with a slight smirk. "My best friend Elena has kept me from being arrested or going to juvie."

He sighed. "I wish I had an Elena. All my friends were just as bad as me, some worse."

"What'd you get arrested for?" I asked, curious. I had a theory that my big brother was a part of a gang.

"The first time I was fifteen, and I got sent to juvie for underage drinking. The second time was a year later- I got in a really bad bar fight. And the third time-" he cut himself off.

"What? What did you do the third time?" I asked, curious.

He sighed. "Arson. The third time was for arson."

My eyebrows shot up. "Arson?"

"I set a field on fire, and got caught. It was a onetime thing, an accident," he explained quickly, but didn't meet my eyes. I had a feeling that Jace wasn't telling me the complete truth.

"So when did you clean up your act?" I asked.

"I didn't clean up my act, necessarily. But I've gotten better. I've grown up." Just then, our food came.

"How old are you?" I asked, pouring syrup onto my pancakes.

"I turned 21 in May. You?" Jace asked, biting into a piece of bacon.

"I turn 19 in November," I answered. "Where do you live? Do you live in Virginia?"

He nodded and swallowed the mouthful of bacon. "I live in a town and hour and a half away- Casper Heights. I grew up there. Did you grow up here, in Mystic Falls?"

I nodded. "Born and raised."

We ate in silence, and I kept thinking about my brother's history with arson there had to be more to that story, I knew there was. "Was our dad a good guy?" Jace asked me suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nodded and swallowed my chewed up pancakes. "Yeah, a great guy- a great dad. I mean, I gotta admit, I think less of him, for cheating on my mom. Not because I'm the biggest fan of my mom, but because I never expected him to be a cheater."

He raised an eyebrow. "How did you know he cheated on your mom?"

"Because I know that they were together for eight years straight before they had me, and you're three years older than me. he cheated on my mom while they were married," I repeated.

Jace sighed. "What my mom told me was that he stumbled into the bar she was working at one night, he was drunk out of his mind but still charming, and they slept together. She knew that he was married, so she snuck out the next morning and never tried to let him know that she was pregnant," he explained.

I let out a sigh of relief. I knew that if my dad knew about Jace, he would've tried to be a part of his life. He would've let me know about my brother last year, when I saw him again as a ghost and he moved on. That was just the kind of guy William Ellis was.

"Do you still live with your mom?" I asked him, taking a sip of my coffee.

Jace rolled his eyes. "Hell no. I got out of that house as soon as I turned eighteen. I still live in the same town as her, but I try to avoid her at all costs," he said.

It sounded like we had our relationships with our mothers in common too. "I got kicked out of the house a few weeks before she died, and I live with my boyfriend and his brother," I said.

Jace's eyes narrowed. "You live with your _boyfriend? _Hailey, you're only eighteen! You're barely a legal adult!"

I found his big brother overprotectiveness annoying and amusing at the same time. "Damon and I are in a very, very serious relationship. We're in love," I said, smirking slightly.

He rolled his eyes. "Right. Because no guy has ever used that line to get into a girl's pants before. Hell, I've-" he cut himself off and I rolled my eyes. my brother was a manwhore.

"Don't worry about it, Jace. Damon and I have been together for about a year now, and we're in love. We've been through a lot. Besides, if he wants sex he doesn't need to tell me he loves me to get it." I smirked at my brother.

A look of disgust and horror crossed Jace's features. "Ugh, no! no! I do _not _want to hear any more about my baby sister's sex life!" he exclaimed and I laughed.

we had known each other for only a little while, but we were already acting like siblings.

_**~EL~**_

"I'll call you tomorrow. We'll get drunk together," I said to Jace, as we walked to my car.

He whistled when he saw my baby. "Nice car," he said. "It's no motorcycle, though."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. My baby could easily run over your precious motorcycle."

Jace grinned. "I'd like to see your precious mustang run over _my _baby," he said.

I rolled my eyes again. "I'll call you tomorrow," I repeated.

"Sounds good. It was nice talking to you, Hailey," he said sincerely, and I smiled slightly.

"Yeah, it was." I got into my car. "See you tomorrow."

"See you." Jace started walking towards his motorcycle, before he stopped. "Hey, Hailey?"

"Yeah?" I called out my window.

Jace smirked at me. "Stop skipping school."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever Arson Annie."

He grinned back, but something flickered in his eyes when I mentioned his act of arson. Yeah, there definitely was more to that story than he was admitting.

When I got back to the boarding house, Damon was waiting for me. "Elena was freaking out, how you ditched school and then disappeared off of the face of the earth," he said casually, handing me a glass of bourbon. Damon had become much more relaxed with my safety, knowing that the only thing that could kill me was rusting away in the bottom of a lake.

"I ditched school because I had another nightmare vision," I said, sitting down on the couch and putting my feet in Damon's lap.

"Did you fall asleep?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Nope," I said, taking a long sip of my drink.

"Huh, well that's not good,' he said after a long pause.

"No, it's really not." I pushed my bangs out of my eyes. "So I went to the Grill, and guess who I ran into?"

"Sad day drunks?"

"No- well, yeah, I guess. Jace. I ran into my brother." I finished off my drink and then tried to take Damon's, but he frowned and moved the glass out of my reach.

"Is that who you were with the past three hours?" he asked.

I nodded. "He's actually a pretty cool guy," I said. "We're hanging out tomorrow."

"Another Ellis. Because that's exactly what this world needs," Damon said sarcastically, and I hit his shoulder.

"He's hiding something from me, though." I frowned. I needed to know what Jace was hiding from me. it was going to drive me crazy if I never found out.

Suddenly, I smiled sweetly up at Damon. "What do you want?" he asked, exasperated.

"I want you to help me find out my brother's secret."

_**~EL~**_

"You're stalking your brother?"

"I'm not _stalking _him," I said. "I'm just doing some digging."

"You're stalking him," Damon repeated as we drove to Casper Heights.

"He has a secret, and I want to know it," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He rolled his eyes. "Curiosity killed the cat, Hailey," Damon reminded me. "The last time you went digging, you found out you had a brother."

"And look how well that turned out. I actually like him! I can't help my curiosity, Damon," I said.

Ten minutes later, we were at the Casper Heights police station. I knew that the files I wanted would be here. "Can I help you?" the receptionist asked me politely, as Damon and I walked up to the front desk.

"Yeah, you can." I leaned forward and stared into her brown eyes. "Get me Jace Andrews' file."

She left and returned a few minutes later with a rather thick file. Arrested only three times my ass. "Thank you," I said with a cheeky smile, before Damon and I walked back out to his Camaro.

I began flipping through Jace's file, reading quickly. The reports from his underage drinking and bar fight were there, but, like I had predicted, there was more to his arson story. he had had more acts of arson than he had let on- he even almost burned his house down a few times.

And then I read about the therapy that he was still forced to attend, and the medication that he still had to take. There was even more to his acts of arson than I thought.

"Jace is a pyromaniac."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **So, even if you didn't know what a pyromaniac is off of the top of your head, you could probably figure it out, because Jace has a history of arson. But, basically, a pyro is a person who fancies setting things on fire.

thank you to: Signora Ted, SomebodyWhoCares, and Samantha meyers for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :D


	8. cats

**Chapter eight**

**Cats **

*Hailey*

"So your brother's a pyro. What do we do now?"

That was the question Damon and I had been trying to answer for days. Jace was a pyromaniac, but he went therapy and took medication so that he wouldn't set things on fire. I knew it wasn't like he was a crazy, he wasn't going to turn me into a human torch in my sleep, but Jace was a _pyro. _I couldn't just pretend like I didn't know that.

"I can't believe you stole your brother's file," Damon said as he laid in bed, rereading said report. It was actually kind of interesting, the shit Jace got into when he was younger. I knew that if I didn't have Elena, I would've turned out just like him.

I shrugged as I kicked garbage and dirty clothes aside in search of my cat. Our room was a mess- Damon and I were both lazy and always put off cleaning the room. but now Ellie was lost and I only had her meows to guide me.

"You shouldn't, really," I said. "I've done worse, more outrageous things before."

Damon shrugged. "True."

I found Ellie trapped under a laundry basket with dirty clothes and several bottles tossed over it. She hissed irritably at me, apparently not willing to forgive me just yet. She jumped out of my arms and padded out the door, but not without scratching me first.

"Ow!" I whined, as a few droplets of blood dripped down my arm before the scratch healed. "You're lucky you're cute, or else I would've had you stuffed a long time ago!" I called to my cat. She hissed in response.

I wiped my arm clean on my shirt before turning to face Damon. He had an eyebrow raised, his blue eyes full of amusement. "What?" I asked, confused.

You're a cat lady," he said. "You are literally a crazy, immortal cat lady who talks to her cats like they're people."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, I'm not a cat lady."

"You are," he argued, smirking slightly. "I'm going to come home one day and there are going to be dozens of cats running around."

"I seriously suggest shutting up if you would like to have sex ever again," I told him, walking over to our bed.

"If it helps, you're a hot cat lady." Damon smirked at me and I rolled my eyes.

"God, you're never going to let it the fact that I talk to my familiar go, are you?" I asked, laying down next to him.

"Nope, never." Damon set Jace's file aside.

"It's going to be 2547 and you're still going to be calling me 'Crazy Cat Lady.'"

"Sounds about right."

I suddenly had Damon pinned beneath me and I kissed him. it wasn't a passionate or lustful kiss. It wasn't full of dominance. It was a kiss to tell him that I couldn't imagine life without him and his slightly offensive nicknames.

Damon easily flipped us over so that he was on top, but I let him. After a few minutes, he pulled away. I was breathing heavily as I said, "I'll let you call me 'Crazy Cat Lady' for three days if you clean up our room- Ellie's going to claw our eyes out in our sleep if she gets trapped again."

"I'll do it for five days," he bartered, sitting up.

"Deal." Damon got off of me, but I remained laying down in the bed. Now that I knew that I was going to get my nightmare visions sleeping or not, I didn't bother to stop sleeping. I pulled the blanket over me and snuggled into my pillow. But before I closed my eyes, I caught Damon looking at me.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He just shook his head as he threw several empty bottles into a trash can. "Nothing. I just kind of love you, is all."

I smirked at him. "Yeah, you're not completely terrible either," I said. Damon chuckled before leaving the room with an armful of dirty clothes.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep with only the hope that I wouldn't wake up because of another nightmare vision. But hope really gets you nowhere.

_I picked up my skirt as I ran, looking over my shoulder every few seconds. I just had to reach my brother's house and I would be safe. I had to be safe for my son, I could not leave him with his father. His father, who had forced me to marry him. The only good thing that came out of that marriage was my son, though I constantly imagined that he had a different father._

_I tripped over a rock and fell to my knees. I felt blood drip from my hands and knees and my ankle burned with pain. But I forced myself to get up and keep running. I could hear them coming, hear them running after me._

_I felt the presence of water, which made me change my direction towards a nearby pond. Yes, the water would keep me alive. I felt tears roll down my cheeks from the pain, but I kept running. I had to stay alive._

_Just as I saw the pond, I was suddenly pushed into a tree. I gasped out in pain as my head came in contact with the trunk. I saw dots in my vision as I fell to the muddy ground._

_Three people, three witches, walked around me. I barely saw my forsaken husband out of the corner of my eye, frowning with something along the lines of regret, before he disappeared. I gritted my teeth, all concern for myself going to my son. Hopefully, my brothers wouldn't let him get their nephew. They were the only two I could rely on protecting him now, the only two capable of doing so._

_As the witches walked around me in a circle, they muttered things such as "Dangerous fairy" and "abomination of nature." I stared defiantly up at them, daring them silently to try something. One man I walked forward, and I barely caught sight of the knife in his hand before I kicked him in the stomach, sending him into a tree._

_Pain shot through my broken ankle as I forced myself to stand up and run the other two witches shouted at me, but my gaze was on the pond. If I could just make it to the pond, I could drown them._

_Suddenly, I screamed out in pain as a witch cast a spell on me. it felt like my head was on fire, and I clutched it as I fell to my knees. One witch stalked forward, her brown eyes cold and merciless, the knife clutched tight in her hand._

_I met her gaze, wanting her to know that I wasn't afraid of her, that my death would be avenged. Because, no matter how our last encounter had ended, I knew he still loved me, enough to kill the witches who killed me. I still loved him, enough to regret not being with. That was my biggest regret in life, allowing my pride to come before my love._

_And I would never get the chance to redeem that mistake._

_Without another word, the witch raised the knife and stabbed me swiftly in the heart._

_**~EL~**_

"Where are you going?"

I shrugged on my leather jacket and searched for my keys in the living room. Damon was lounging on the couch. We were both super tired, since I spent half the night screaming my head off.

"To meet my pyro brother and get to the bottom of his freakishness," I said, though I wasn't in a position to call anybody a freak.

"Try not to get set on fire," he replied casually, taking a sip of bourbon.

I rolled my eyes. "No promises." I kissed him quickly, his mouth tasting like blood and bourbon- a pretty delicious combination. I stole his drink and he frowned at me as I tossed it back. "See you later."

"Wait, Hailey." I paused at the door and turned around to face Damon.

"Yeah?" I raised an eyebrow at him and placed a hand on my hip.

"I've been thinking about your flame-happy brother, and I honestly don't think he's a pyro," Damon said, pouring himself another drink.

I rolled my eyes. "He was diagnosed, Damon. Jace is a pyro."

"He's an Ellis, and you're all freaks." I glared at Damon even though it was true. We were all huge freaks.

"Oh, sorry, I meant fairies," he said sarcastically. "Jace is a fairy, isn't there some fire fairy?"

I shook my head. "He can't be, Damon. there is a fire fairy bloodline, but I don't even know if it still exists. Besides, he's a part of Bella's line. So even if he was a fairy- which he can't be, because he's a dude- he would be telekinetic and he would have visions. Jace is just a carrier, Damon. A pyromaniac carrier, that's all. believe it or not, there might actually be some normal crazy in our lives, instead of supernatural crazy," I said, already walking towards the front door.

"Right. Because the brother of a fairy-vampire hybrid, who comes from a long line of fairies is more likely to be normal crazy instead of supernatural crazy. Because normal crazy still exists for us. Right." Damon took a sip of his drink and walked back to the couch. "Well, have fun with your 'normal' pyromaniac brother, Hailey. There definitely isn't more to his fetish with fire."

I frowned at him for a few seconds before leaving. He honestly thought that Jace was a fairy. but it wasn't possible. Everything I knew about fairies would be thrown into a question if he was anything other than a carrier.

No, normal crazy still existed for me. It had to.

_**~EL~**_

"Welcome to Casper Heights, where absolutely nothing happens."

Jace was driving us to his apartment in his town. He was showing me around, unknowing that I had already been there. I was still thinking about the possibility that my brother might be a fairy, though.

"Please, in Mystic Falls all we do is have too many unnecessary get-togethers," I said. Along with get attacked by vampires, that is.

"I'll take that over nothing, Hails." Jace smirked at me as we parked in front of an apartment building. "I'll show you around, tell you about my very exciting past as a juvenile delinquent. But first let me get this bottle of bourbon- it should be freaking amazing, for what I paid for it."

I smirked as we walked into the apartment building. It was nothing fancy- exactly the kind of place a guy who works a bartender part time and lives off of money left to him by his grandparents would live. We climbed two flights of stairs and stopped at apartment 5B.

"After you, little sister," Jace offered me a smirk as he held the door open for me.

His apartment was messy, with pizza boxes, empty bottles, and motorcycle magazines lying around. Apparently Jace missed out on the neat freak gene too. I took in his apartment as Jace dropped a stack of mail on an already overflowing coffee table.

"Yeah… it's really messy right now. This chick I sleep with sometimes, Cara, usually comes over every week and cleans up for me, but she's pissed at me right now because 'I'm emotionally unavailable, too immature for a real relationship, and will have to get over my trust issues and let somebody in if I don't want to die alone.'" Jace scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Freaking psychology majors- they just love to psycho-analyze you."

I studied my brother with a raised eyebrow. "Huh. you're kind of a jackass when it comes to women, aren't you?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Shut up, Hailey."

"My brother the manwhore." I smirked at him.

"Shut up, Hailey," he repeated with narrowed eyes.

"A manwhore who's wittiest comeback is 'shut up.' Aren't you a winner," I replied sarcastically.

Jace rolled his eyes at me and made his way to a cabinet beside a couch with clothes piled carelessly on it. I noticed a purple bra among the pile and rolled my eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a STD.

I noticed the many boxes of pizza and cartons of Chinese food among the mess consuming Jace's apartment. "You eat a lot of takeout, don't you?" I asked as Jace searched for his bottle of bourbon.

"I can't cook to save my life. It was Cara's job to feed me, so I starved for the first few days after she slapped me across the face and told me to call her when I grew up," Jace replied.

One thing we didn't have in common. "Dad was an amazing cook," I said a little nostalgically. "I inherited his skills, but I make Damon cook for me."

Jace turned around to face me, a bottle in his hand and a dark look on his face. "Oh yeah, the infamous boyfriend who I have yet to meet and who has to earn my blessing," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll feed you from now on if you stop with the obnoxiously overprotective brother shit," I said.

"Not even if you promised to clean my apartment," he replied.

I frowned as I surveyed the room. "Yeah, we need to take care of that," I said. I could easily compel some people to do it, but how would I explain that to Jace?

A harassed meow cut us off, and Jace walked over to a pile of clothes that was moving as if it was alive. He pushed the clothes off to reveal a gigantic tabby cat who looked like it had been in a lot fights before. The corner of its left ear had been bitten off, and there was claw marks on its face and body.

"Sorry dude, it won't happen again," Jace promised the cat. He hissed in response, clearly annoyed. "Hailey, this is Monster, my cat. He seems like a huge badass on the outside, but on the inside he's nothing more than a fat, unfriendly fur ball." Monster hissed at him again.

My eyes were wide, though. He had a cat. Cats were familiars. Fairies had familiars. "When did you get him?" I asked, trying my best to sound casual.

"When I was fifteen. He found me, literally. Followed me home one day and refused to go away. eventually I decided to accept that he was never leaving and feed him, and now we're BFFs," Jace explained, walking over to a ceramic bowl with _Monster _painted on it with green paint, a crude painting of a monster cat next to the name.

It was no coincidence, I knew. It was no coincidence that Jace was a "pyromaniac" with a cat. He wasn't a pyro at all, though.

Jace was a fairy.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you: David Fishwick, colleenrawr, MissCaityGrace, Lady Syndra, Kelsey, SomebodyWhoCares, Samantha meyers, skipperdoodle, and Signora Ted for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	9. fairies

**Chapter nine**

**Fairies**

*Hailey*

My brother was a fairy. How was that possible?

Everything I knew about fairies was now thrown into question. Was anything Victoria told me true? Or was she just pulling my leg? How was Jace a fairy?

"What's wrong?"

Jace's voice brought me back to reality. "Huh?" I asked dumbly, as he poured food out for Monster.

"You look like you've just been hit with a brick," he explained. "You okay?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so." I would only make Jace think I'm a bigger freak than I already am if I didn't act normal.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You sure?"

I nodded again, more firmly this time. "Yep, I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night," I said easily. It wasn't a complete lie, either.

He smirked at me. "Funny, I didn't either. Though I doubt the reason you didn't get a lot of sleep was because of your hot Asian co-worker Kim-" he started to say, but I cut him off.

"Stop," I said, raising a hand. "I don't want to hear anymore."

Jace's smirk grew wider. "Aw, but Kim could be your future sister-in-law, Hails," he joked.

"Is that her bra?" I asked, gesturing to the purple bra on his couch.

Jace frowned. "No."

"Then there's no way she's going to be my sister. You're too much of a manwhore to settle down." I smirked back at him.

He placed a hand over his heart and feigned hurt. "Ugh, the pain," he said. "For all you know, I could settle down with a nice girl and have a small army of children in the next five years."

"You probably already have a small army of children, Jace," I retorted. "They're just illegitimate."

He smirked at me. "Whatever, _Auntie _Hailey."

I rolled my eyes, all thoughts of Jace being a fairy almost lost in our banter. "Let's just get going, okay?"

"Fine," he said easily, grabbing his bottle. "Let's walk. That way we can both drink."

After Jace said goodbye to Monster- who growled in response- we walked out of his apartment building and down the streets of Casper Heights. It didn't have the same quaintness as Mystic Falls, more of a small, washed up town that was struggling just to remain on the map.

My plot to find out if Jace actually was a fairy was simple: find out more about him, and then judge for myself if he was one. If I thought he was, I'd confront him about it. That was what we Ellis' were best at- confronting others but rather awkward things. That, and drinking.

"So, the park," I stated as we walked through the rather pathetic park. There wasn't one green plant in sight. "Is this where you went after you snuck out at night, and got drunk and or high?"

Jace smirked down at me. "I'm not a druggie, Hails. Just an alcoholic. But yeah, basically. That," he pointed to a bush. "Is where I lost my virginity to Claire Hawthorne when I was fourteen."

I wrinkled my nose. "Can we just not talk about your sex life?" I asked.

"Why not? I enjoy it." He grinned.

"More like you enjoy grossing me out," I muttered.

"Yeah, especially that," Jace agreed.

I rolled my eyes at my brother. He may be twenty one, but he was more immature than an eight year old. Granted, I was about as mature as a ten year old, and girls matured faster than boys. "Can we start with the tour of your juvenile history?" I asked, taking the bottle from him.

"Sure thing," Jace said, before gesturing towards a park bench. "That's where I slept whenever I was too drunk to go home or to call my best friend, Chuck. He was my version of an Elena, I guess. Only he was more of my partner in crime than my one phone call."

I sighed. "I wish Elena would be my partner in crime. She'd be so much more fun."

"Yeah, but you'd be in a lot more trouble than you have been," he pointed out.

I smirked up at Jace. "Trouble is fun."

"No need to tell me that, Hails. I've been getting into trouble before you could talk," he countered, taking his bottle back.

I just rolled my eyes. "You got totally screwed over on this bourbon, by the way," I said. It was very weak. I didn't even have a buzz.

He frowned and took an experimental sip. "That's because it's water."

"So, you _did _get screwed over on this bourbon," I repeated with a raised eye.

He shook his head. "No, Slim wouldn't-" he suddenly cursed. "Freaking Cara. She switched the bottles on me. God, vengeful psychology majors are the worst."

"Who's Slim?" I asked, curious.

Jace suddenly broke out into a smile. "Jonathan Parker the third. Slim, for short. He's almost always stoned, but he's a genius. Certified, I think. I don't know, he won't tell me. He comes from a really rich, snooty family, but they kicked him out on his ass when he was fifteen. So now he runs the bar I work at and deals pot. He's been getting me drunk since I knew what drunk was."

I smiled a bit nostalgically. It sounded like Slim was to Jace what Ava had been to me. A unpleasant pang hit my heart when I thought about her. She had been dead for almost a year, but I still missed her.

"Let's go to the bar," Jace said suddenly. "We need more booze and you can meet my friends."

"Jace has friends?" I teased. "How adorable."

He rolled his green eyes, identical to mine. "Let's just go."

It was a five minute walk to the bar Slim's. It had the closed sign on the door, but Jace walked in anyway, holding the door open for me and gesturing for me to go inside.

"Hey!" a woman's voice snapped, and I heard high heels clicking against the ground as the woman marched towards us. "Can't you read? We're closed! And here I thought that Casper heights was at least literate-"

A pretty young woman with dark curls froze when her eyes landed on Jace. Then she glared at him with the intensity of the burning sun. "Get. Out," she hissed.

Jace sighed. "Cara-" he started to say, but was cut off when she threw a glass bottle at him. He just dodged it. "Woah! There's not need to throw things now!"

"Get out, Jace!" Cara exclaimed, while I watched, amused. So she was the psychology major who pyscho-analyzed my brother when he broke her heart. She was pretty, but her deep brown eyes were full of loathing as she stared at him.

"I work here too, Cara," he argued.

"Well, you're fired!" she shouted, her eyes blazing.

He rolled his eyes at her. "You can't fire me, Cara. I've worked here longer than you have, and Slim likes me better. The only reason he kept your ass around was because you look hotter in a miniskirt than I do."

"You just don't have the legs for skirts, dude."

Slim was the stereotypical hippie, with long hair and an easygoing air. He had kind eyes and a friendliness about him that drew people in. He wasn't completely ugly either, but the fact that he had longer hair than me wasn't a turn on.

"What's going on here?" A short, stocky guy with curly blonde hair followed Slim in. I guessed he was Chuck. His blue eyes instantly went to me and he smirked. 'well, hello there."

Jace frowned at him. "Dude, she's my sister."

Cara dropped the pitcher she had been holding, dumping water all over the ground. "Sister?" she asked, shocked.

Yes! All my fantasies have come true!" Chuck exclaimed, before looking apologetically at Jace. "Sorry dude, I'm still going to go after her, even if she is your sister."

"I will punch your teeth out," Jace told him seriously.

I laughed slightly. "Not that I don't appreciate your appreciation, but I have a boyfriend," I told him.

He sighed. "Of course you do. All the hot ones are either taken or crazy." Chuck looked meaningfully at Cara. "And you fall into the second category."

But Cara wasn't paying attention to him. her gaze was focused on me. "I bet you're just like him too," she muttered. "You're probably a slut."

"Cara!" Jace frowned at her.

"Chill out, Care," Slim said.

I narrowed my eyes at her and left humorlessly. "You're a new kind pathetic, aren't you?"

She glared at me. "You don't know anything about me, bitch."

It must've been my heightened emotions, but I really wanted to drain her dry at that moment. "Honey, don't start shit you can't finish," I told her.

"Hailey," Jace said in a warning tone, but I wasn't paying any attention to him.

Cara managed to punch me in the jaw before I pushed her across the bar like she was a ragdoll. That crazy human bitch was no match for me. Her head smacked against a counter, and she gasped in pain.

"_Bitch!" _she hissed, getting ready to stand up. Suddenly, a line of fire formed between us, separating us.

"Oh shit!" Chuck ran to get an extinguisher, while I stared, wide eyed at my brother. His lips were pressed in a firm line, his gaze focused on the fire.

This was all the proof I needed.

"Jace, can I talk to you? Outside?" I asked him. I knew of only one way to break him into the supernatural world he was undoubtedly apart of. Bluntly and without warning.

"Yeah, sure."

We walked out of the bar and down an alley. "Sorry about Cara. She's crazy," Jace said, I waved his apology away.

"What I'm about to tell you is going to seem crazy, but you need to listen and not run away, okay?" I said seriously.

Jace frowned at me. "What are you talking about, Hailey?"

I took a deep breath. "You're a fairy, Jace. And I'm a fairy-vampire hybrid."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: nickiR0x, Samantha meyers, MissCaityGrace, David Fishwick, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :D


	10. crazy freak

**Chapter ten**

**Crazy freak**

*Hailey*

The silence that followed my blunt confession seemed to last hours. In reality it probably only lasted a minute, if even. I just stared up at my older half-brother with a raised eyebrow. I wondered how he would take the news.

I saw Jace go through the stages, his green eyes showing it all like a movie screen as he went through them. At first, he thought I was just joking and there was an amused little grin on his lips. Them he realized I was serious, and the grin was wiped off. His eyes widened, disbelief obvious. Denial came next, and he shook his head slightly. Jace's eyebrows furrowed when he started thinking about the facts. Maybe I wasn't completely insane. Slowly, acceptance dawned in his eyes. He opened his mouth and I smirked slightly. That hadn't taken so long. Maybe unfiltered bluntness _was _the way to go.

"You're a freaking psycho."

Or, maybe not.

"Not completely," I said. I knew that his seemingly quick acceptance had been too good to be true. "I mean, sure, I'm not completely stable upstairs, but I'm not crazy when it comes to this."

Jace laughed humorlessly. "You've been watching too much True Blood, Hailey," he told me.

I rolled my eyes. "Please, I'm so much more badass than Sookie."

"Vampires aren't real." Jace said slowly and deliberately. "Fairies aren't real. You're insane if you think I'm a fairy and you're some hybrid."

I sighed. "Jace, you know you're not normal." I told him quietly. He knew it just like I had known it. He just didn't want to admit it.

"I'm a slightly alcoholic bartender who sleeps around. That seems pretty normal to me," he said dryly.

"Correction: you're a slightly alcoholic bartender who sleeps around and has a tendency to set things on fire." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Jace's eyes widened. "How'd you-?"

I shrugged. "I do my research."

Jace still shook his head. "So I'm a pyro, okay? I take my meds and go to therapy. I'm fine. I'm normal," he repeated.

"Yet, you still started a fire with your mind back there," I said, gesturing with my head to the bar.

"No, that wasn't me," He insisted, though I saw straight through his lie.

"Yeah, it was. You know it, I know it, so there's no point in lying about it."

Jace shook his head insistently. "I'm not a fairy, Hailey!"

"Why are you denying it when the proof is right in front of you?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

"You know you're not normal, Jace!"

"I'm not a freak like you, Hailey!" he shouted. "I'm not a psycho who thinks I'm some freaky vampire-fairy hybrid. God, if I'd known I'd find my half-sister who was a crazy freak, I'd never gone looking for my dad."

I was surprised that his comment hurt me as much as it did. I think Jace saw the hurt in my eyes, because his face softened. "Hailey-"

"Do you want proof?" I asked shortly, my eyes hardening.

"Hailey, I didn't mean-" Jace tried to say, but I cut him off.

"You did, though. It's okay, you're not the first person related to me who wished I wasn't who I was." I laughed humorlessly, bitterly. I was the anti-girly girl cheerleader my mom didn't want as a daughter, and I was the crazy, psycho freak that my brother didn't want as a sister. I didn't have any family that wanted me just how I was. "Do you want proof that the sister you wish you didn't have isn't the crazy freak you think she is?"

Jace didn't answer, so I took his silence as a yes. I took a deep breath and decided to prove I was a fairy first. It'd be less intimidating and easier to accept than my vampire face.

I focused my gaze on a stack of crates in the alley we were in, and they went flying against a wall. I heard Jace gasp, but I already had my sights set on a broken fridge. I lifted it high up in the air using my telekinesis, higher than the tops of the buildings on either side of us. Then I let it go.

The crash echoed through the silent fall day. It was loud, and broken bits of refrigerator went all around the alley. I stared at the mess I had caused for a few seconds, before looking back at my shocked brother.

"I'm half-fairy," I said, sounding almost indifferent. "I have visions of the future- and sometimes the past- and I'm telekinetic."

"I see that," Jace said, green eyes wide as soccer balls.

"Now I'll show you I'm a vampire," I said, already preparing myself to let go of my control over my thirst.

"No, really, you don't need-" he started to say, but I had already let go.

The veins darkened under my red eyes. My fangs extended out of my gums and I let out a feral growl for good measure. If he wanted to see the scary, abnormal freak he thought Hailey Ellis was, I'd show it to him. One tenth of a second later, I had crossed the alley and stood in front of Jace. He jumped away from me.

"Holy shit."

"I'm a vampire," I told him, my face going back to normal. My eyes turned green, my veins lightened, and my fangs went back into my gums.

Jace and I stared at each other in silence for the longest time. I didn't let myself care that he was going through the shock of his life. He thought I was insane, a freak. He didn't want me as a sister anymore. I didn't care what he was going through.

"So, you know what I am now," I said coolly, turning my back on my brother and slowly walking away. "And you know what you are. Call me when you stop being a dick long enough to accept the truth."

Jace didn't follow me when I walked away from him. I was still too pissed at him for saying those things to me, for hurting me. I was even more pissed at myself for letting a guy I had known for days in long enough to let him hurt me. That was my mistake.

_**~EL~**_

"You don't look too happy."

"My brother's a jackass," I announced as I walked into the living room of the boarding house where Stefan and Damon were sitting.

"I can relate," Stefan said, causing Damon to roll his eyes.

"What did Jace do to piss you off?" Damon asked as I sat down in his lap and he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I told him about vampires and fairies, and he said some not-so nice things," I explained. I was feeding on my anger rather than my hurt of what Jace had told me. Being angry required

nothing other than annoying, dickish people. Hurt required letting somebody in and allowing him or her to hurt you. And that made a person weak in my eyes. I wasn't weak.

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed. "Why did you tell him?" he asked.

"Because Jace is a fairy."

A smug smirk made its way onto Damon's lips. I covered his mouth with my hand. "Not a word, Damon," I said, giving him a stern look.

Damon didn't say "I told you so," but the smirk didn't leave his mouth. I hated it when he was right.

Stefan was still confused. "Jace is a fairy? How is that even possible?"

I sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine. All I know is that he's' a fire fairy, which breaks the rules that him being a dude didn't already break."

"How did you tell him?" Stefan asked curiously.

"I took him out of the bar we were in and told him that he was a fairy and I was a fairy-vampire hybrid," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Why does it matter?"

"That's exactly what you did? You just told him?" Stefan's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yep." I leaned against Damon's chest and blew my bangs out of my face.

"Hailey, you can't just _tell _somebody about the supernatural. You have to ease them in first."

Stefan frowned at me, like this was common knowledge.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not like there's a right way, Stefan," I argued.

"Well, that definitely isn't it."

"That's how I would've done it," Damon defended me

"That only proves my point. If you just announce to him that you're supernatural, he isn't going to react very well," Stefan explained.

My face darkened. "His reaction had nothing to do with how I told him," I muttered, standing up.

"What did he say, Hailey?" Damon asked me, concerned.

I turned around and smirked sarcastically at the brothers. "He told me he wished he had never found out I was his sister." Then I marched away from them.

I heard Damon sigh as I made my way to the front door. Then, suddenly, he appeared in front of me. Damon didn't apologize. He didn't say anything. He held my gaze for a few seconds before finally looking away and handing me my jacket. "Let's go."

I frowned. "May I ask where we're going?"

Damon smirked at me. "The bar. Where else?"

_**~EL~**_

"Play pool with me?" I asked Damon a glass of bourbon and a shot of tequila later.

"No way," Damon said. "You cheat."

I pouted. "I do not."

"And you're a bad cheater too,' he continued. "Even when you cheat, you still lose. How does that work?"

"Shut up!" I said, pushing him. Then I reached across the table for my scotch.

"Hey, it's not my fault you can't cheat right." Damon smirked at me, and then he stole my scotch.

I frowned up at him. "You're mean."

Damon's smirk grew. "I'm always mean."

"I can't argue with that," I muttered as Damon finished my drink.

Damon chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist. I pushed him away, but he was stronger and persistent. Damon kept his arm around me and I sighed.

"Why are you so grumpy today?" he asked, and I frowned.

"I'm not grumpy," I defended myself.

"You kind of are."

I sighed. "It's nothing."

Damon frowned. "Is this about what Jace said, about not wanting you to be his sister?"

"It's nothing."

Damon ignored me. "Want me to rip his throat out for you?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine, Damon. It was a jackass thing to say, that's all. It's not like it hurt me or anything."

He rolled his eyes. "Bullshit. I see right through your lies Hailey, remember that. It hurt you, what he said. You actually cared about your brother."

I shrugged. "Hey, he's not the first family member who didn't want me. It's cool. I don't need family," I told myself more than Damon. Jace proved to be a mistake. He wasn't my family. He was a bastard child of my father's, that's all. He and my mom could both burn in hell.

Damon's face softened, and he handed me a glass of bourbon. "I want you, Hailey," he told me quietly. Then he kissed me.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. I still had Damon. I wasn't completely alone.

"Bella?"

I frowned and pulled away from Damon to look up at a redheaded woman. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Sage?" Damon said sounding surprised.

My eyebrows furrowed. Who was this Sage, how did Damon know her, and why did she call me by the name of my dead fairy ancestor?

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**So, to give you guys a heads up, this story is going to incorporate the prequel about the original fairies, True Love Never Dies. If you haven't read it, I suggest that you do, to have things make more sense. It's newly finished, too. If you really don't want to, I'll try my best to make it so that nonreaders can understand. But I recommend that you do. And from here on out, there will be pretty major spoilers in this story about TLND, so I suggest that if you do want to read it, that you finish it before continuing to read this story.

Thank you to: MissCaityGrace, Lady Syndra, kate, SomebodyWhoCares, colleenrawr, 5alvatore, and JellyBear7 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	11. Sage

**Chapter eleven**

**Sage**

*Hailey*

Sage stared down at me, her eyebrows furrowed. I raised mine, as equally confused as she seemed to be.

"I'm not Bella, I'm Hailey. Hailey Ellis," I told her. Her eyes widened slightly, while I remained confused. How could she possibly know Bella? Bella died over a thousand years ago.

"Sage." Damon watched her almost apprehensively. "What are you doing here?"

Sage shrugged. "I was just stopping in for a drink when I saw you two…"

I frowned. How did Damon and Sage know each other? I didn't like it. Knowing Damon, he probably slept with her. Multiple times. Hell, he could've easily turned her. I didn't even know Sage and I already hated her guts.

Damon turned to face me. "Hailey, this is Sage. We…" Damon suddenly looked awkward. "We're old friends, I guess you can say."

Sage smirked slightly. "Yes, old friends. How long has it been, Damon? A century?"

"Just about." Damon's eyes kept shifting over to me, while mine never left Sage.

Yes, they definitely slept together.

_**~EL~**_

"What is wrong with you?"

"Ow! Why are you asking me that? You're the one hitting people!"

I glared at Damon and hit his arm again. Three hours later, we were back in our room and I was less than happy with Damon. "You invited_her_to stay here!" I hissed, refusing to say Sage's name. I didn't like her, not even a little bit.

He rolled his eyes. "I was being polite, Hailey."

"You've never been polite before. Why start now?" I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest.

Damon sighed, clearly exasperated with me. "Hailey, we were friends back in 1912. She needs a place to stay, and we have six other bedrooms in this house-"

"Bullshit." I rolled my eyes. "I know you two used to sleep together."

Damon froze. He clearly didn't expect me to know that. It wasn't hard to figure it out, though. Damon was a manwhore, Sage was a slut, they were "friends," Sage kept smirking at me, and her stares lingered on Damon. They definitely had a thing going on in 1912.

"We didn't-" Damon started to say; apparently deciding that lying about it would be the best way to diffuse me.

"Bullshit," I repeated. "Don't even think about lying about it, Damon. You two slept together. Fine. Great. Good for you. But she's not staying here."

He sighed. "I hadn't seen her in a hundred years, Hailey. Really, our relationship was just sex. It was nothing, I swear."

I rolled my eyes again. "I know it was just sex, Damon. You were still obsessed with_Katherine_in 1912." The mention of Damon's other exe only caused my anger to rise even more. God, why was the man I loved such a slut?

Damon placed his hands on my shoulders and forced me to look up at him. "We've gone through this before," he said softly, his blue eyes completely serious. "I don't love Katherine anymore, I love_you._And I never loved Sage. I'm telling you Hailey, you have nothing to worry about. You have no reason to be jealous. She's just going to crash here for a few days and then you'll never have to see her again."

I sighed, but his words had calmed me down. "I was never worried about you cheating on me, Damon," I told him quietly. "Mostly because I'd castrate you if you ever did. I'm worried about Sage not being able to control herself."

He smirked. "Can you blame her?"

I rolled my eyes, grinning despite myself. "Who could resist the eternal stud?" I joked.

Damon wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "She'll be gone before you know it. You won't even have to see her if you don't want to," he told me.

I sighed and rested my head on his chest. "Fine, she can stay," I muttered finally. "But if she so much as checks you out, I'll rip out her throat with my teeth."

Damon chuckled. "I love it when you get jealous."

I just rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around him tighter.

_**~EL~**_

I sighed as I stared at my phone. I was sitting on the stone steps outside the boarding house. It was pitch black outside, the glow of my phone offering minimum light, but I didn't mind. As cliché as it was, since I was a "creature of the night" now, I liked the night. I found it oddly calming and relaxing. I was a complete night owl, another cliché, since I was a vampire.

I was debating with myself whether or not to call Jace. A part of me never wanted to see that jackass again, but another part couldn't help but wonder how he was taking everything. He was my brother, after all. We were family, and nothing would ever change that.

I sighed again. Should I even care about him anymore? He basically told me that he wished I wasn't his sister. And that honestly hurt me. I already saw him as my big brother, despite the fact that I had only known him for a few days.

I took a deep breath and then decided to call him. I had to know how he was doing, for curiosity's sake.

I paced as I listened to the phone ring. After what had to be a dozen rings, he finally answered. Only I could barely hear Jace, because of the loud rock music in the background and his words slurred.

"_H-hello?"_Jace sounded wasted. Granted, he did just find out about fairies and vampires. I'm pretty sure I got drunk after I found out about the supernatural too.

I bit my lip. "Jace?" I said quietly. I didn't even know if he wanted to talk to me. I was his crazy freak of a sister, after all.

There was a pause._"Halley?" _He asked, and I could practically see his dark eyebrows furrowing as he struggled to recognize my voice through the haze of alcohol.

"Hailey, but close enough." I sighed again and ran a hand over my face. "How are you? I mean, how are you taking everything?"

"_Jace! Come on! I thought we were going to your place?"_I heard a feminine nasal voice say, and I frowned. Of course. Jace decided to drink and screw his problems away. He was just like Damon, in that way.

"_Yeah, yeah Julie. I'm coming,"_Jace said distractedly._"Look, I don't have time for this right now, Halley, okay? And I really don't feel like talking to you right now anyway."_

I narrowed my eyes. "It's Hailey, you douche-dick," I hissed before hanging up. I regretted calling him in the first place.

I groaned and blew my bangs out of my eyes. Screw Jace. He can go to hell. If he wanted to choose some random bar skank over me, I didn't care. I didn't need him anyway. We weren't family. I didn't care about him.

Or, at least, that's what I told myself.

I put my phone in my pocket and walked back into the boarding house. I had managed to avoid Sage while telling her that Damon was strictly mine. I had achieved this by having rather loud sex with him, making sure that I was dominant every time.

I regretted nothing.

But, as I walked into the living room, the times of avoiding Sage were over. There, in the middle of my living room, were several half-naked humans covered in bite marks. Sage was in the middle of it all, her fangs sunk into one guy's neck.

The smell of blood hit me, and I exercised my newfound sense of control by not draining a nearby girl of her blood. I took deep breaths and rubbed my temples. I couldn't wait until she got the hell out of my house.

"If you stain the carpet, I will personally rip your eyes out," I told her almost blandly, turning towards the stairs.

Sage suddenly blocked my path, blood covering his mouth. "How old are you?" she asked curiously.

"Eighteen," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest and raising an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes. "I meant vampire age."

"Almost a year," I replied.

"I thought so." Sage studied me. "You still seem to be having a hard time controlling yourself."

I

rolled my eyes. "I'm doing just fine," I told her, walking around her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have shit to do."

But Sage stopped me again. "You mean, claim Damon as yours by having obnoxiously loud sex with him?"

she asked with raised eyebrows.

I smirked at her. "I'm glad that my message was received."

She rolled her eyes. "I have no interest in Damon," she told me.

"You say that, I let my guard down, two days later I catch you two screwing like horny rabbits in spring. I don't think so." I raised an eyebrow at Sage. "Why did you call me Bella?" I asked her randomly.

Sage shrugged. "You _are _her clone. I got confused."

"But Bella's dead," I stressed. "Did you know her before she died?"

She shrugged again. "I guess you could say that," she said vaguely, before turning back to the bloody humans staining my carpet.

My eyebrows were still furrowed. There was more to Sage's connection with Bella than what she was telling me. I opened my mouth to press the topic, when Sage spoke first.

"I'm really not here to get Damon back, Hailey," she told me, her hair seeming even redder in the light cast by the fire.

I

raised an eyebrow. "Good," I said, walking up to her. "Because I'm going to say this only once: if you make a move on my man, I'll kill you. It's as simple as that."

Sage watched me carefully, clearly trying to sense how serious I was. "I love somebody else, Hailey. And I plan to get him back very soon," she told me finally.

I smirked at her. "Then you shouldn't have a problem keeping your slutty claws off of him." I turned my back

on Sage and walked towards the door. "You have a nice night," I called sweetly to her before disappearing up

the stairs.

I definitely was keeping my eye on Sage.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**thank you to: Samantha meyers, HawthorneTree, JellyBear7, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	12. bitch fight

**Chapter twelve**

**Bitch fight**

*Hailey*

"I hate her. I hate her so much."

"Hailey, I bet Sage isn't that bad-" Elena started to say, but I silenced her with a look.

"You listen to that slutty redhead flirt with the love of your life and see how you like it, Lena," I muttered grumpily, laying my head down on the table.

"She'll be gone before you know it," Elena said positively. "When is she supposed to leave?"

"Three days ago," I mumbled and Elena frowned.

"And Damon hasn't said anything to her? That doesn't sound like Damon," she pointed out.

"'They're 'friends.' His big argument was that if he needed a place to crash, she wouldn't kick him out on his ass. But honestly, Elena, all I can think about is that a hundred years ago, they were going at it like sex deprived animals. Do you think the sex was good?" Elena made a face, but I continued before she could answer. "Of course it was. It's Damon." I sighed. "God, I just want the whore to leave my house."

"Why don't you just tell her that? The Hailey Ellis I know doesn't hold back her opinion," Elena said with a slight smile.

"If I kick her out, Damon's going to think I'm jealous, possessive, and controlling," I explained.

"Why do you care if he thinks that? I thought you stopped caring what he thought a long time ago," she said.

"I did and I don't. But then he's going to get all smug and if I hear him say 'I told you so,' I'm going to lose it." I sighed. "I'll just have to tough it out, I suppose."

"I'll pray for you," Elena teased and I stuck my tongue out at her. Then she quickly turned serious. "How are things with you and-"

"Don't say his name," I told her, my eyes darkening. "He's an ass. We don't like that douche-dick anymore, okay?"

"Douche-dick?" Elena raised her eyebrows.

"It's a real word, Lena. Look it up in the dictionary. The example's Jace Andrews," I said with a smirk. Elena gave me a look.

"What happened, Hailey?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "Nothing, everything's peachy," I said evasively.

"Hailey-" she started to say, but I cut her off.

"I'm fine, Elena. Okay? My family sucks. Either they die on me or they just don't want me. I'm fine with that, I'm okay. Family's overrated anyway," I said dismissively, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. Then I checked the time on my cell phone. "I have to go- Caroline blackmailed me into shopping with her."

"Hailey." Elena sighed as I stood up. "I'm sorry for your douche-dick of a brother."

I smiled slightly and shrugged. "Hey, shit happens. Waitresses have affairs with married fairy gene carriers. Condoms break. Douche-dicks are born. Shit happens." I smirked at Elena as I shrugged on my jacket. "See ya later, Lena."

As I got into my car, I decided to call Damon. I wasn't checking in on him, per say. I just wanted to make sure that the skank was keeping her distance. I hadn't been joking one bit when I told her that I'd kill her if she made a move on Damon. I had every intention to rip her skanky heart from her skanky body.

"_Checking up on me?" _Damon sounded amused at my jealousy. I wasn't jealous, though- just territorial.

"No, I'm not. I'm just making sure the slutty redhead is keeping her hands to herself," I said evenly.

He chuckled._"You know, I'd be offended by your lack of trust in me if it wasn't so entertaining."_

"I trust _you, _Damon. I don't trust Sage," I told him.

"_Well, she has yet to confess her undying love for me, if that's what you're worried about,"_Damon told me._"I haven't caught her checking out my ass, either."_

"Good, she's behaving herself." I smirked to myself. "I guess my threat worked."

I could practically hear Damon's eyebrows rising._"You threatened Sage?"_

I scoffed. "Uh, no. I'm not that big of a crazy bitch, Damon."

Surprisingly, Damon chuckled._"It's really hot when you get possessive,"_he told me.

I rolled my eyes. "Only you would think a girl being crazy possessive and controlling is hot."

"_Well, I'm a little biased. The hot sex we've been having lately because you're crazy possessive and controlling has convinced me that you being jealous is not a bad thing." _I could practically see his smirk.

I rolled my eyes again. "Bye, Damon. Behave yourself."

"_Bye, my jealous, possessive and controlling hybrid."_I could tell that he was still smirking._"I love you."_

I smiled despite myself. "I love you too."

After I hung up with Damon, I drove to the mall to meet up with Caroline. Not even dying had changed how I felt about shopping, but Caroline had finally worn me down, and I gave in to her begging and agreed to shop with her. Besides, I hadn't seen much of her the past week. I missed the annoyingly perky blonde.

"Guess who's the houseguest this week," I said as Caroline searched a rack of tops. I leaned against a nearby wall, looking at my nails. I desperately needed to paint them.

"Who?" she asked curiously.

"Sage. One of Damon's many exes." I made a face.

Caroline's nose wrinkled. "She sounds like a stripper," she said and I grinned. Caroline was such a good friend. She hated Sage just because I did.

"She probably is. Or a prostitute. I haven't decided yet." I rolled my eyes. "I just want the bitch to leave. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, it's not. Why don't you tell her to get the hell out?" Caroline looked at a red top before putting it back.

"Because Damon will have that smug smirk glued onto his lips for weeks if I give into temptation and kick her out," I explained, looking down at the scuffmarks on my leather boots.

"Why is she here in the first place?"

I rolled my eyes again. "She and Damon are 'friends' and she needs a place to crash."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Do you think the sex was good?" she asked.

I sighed. "Yeah, probably. My only hope is that our sex is better."

She smirked at me. "You got the 'I love you' Hailey- of course it's better."

I grinned. "I love you Care Bear, you're much better at comforting than Elena."

Caroline grinned and winked at me before turning back to a dress she was holding. "So, anything new besides the stripper living in your house? No half-brothers or anything?" she gave me a pointed look.

I sighed. "Elena told you, didn't she?" she nodded. "I meant to, Caroline. Really."

"I know you did," she said. "Its fine, Hailey. Elena also told me that he's hot. Maybe I'll go after him and we can be sisters-in-law." She grinned again.

I shook my head. "No way, Caroline. You're not allowed to go after Jace. And I'm not saying this because I don't want to be sisters. Jace is a jackass manwhore. We don't like him."

She frowned. "What did he do to you?"

I sighed. "Long story, Caroline. Really long story."

She frowned again, and then not so smoothly changed topics. "So, Matt finally talked to me. He said 'hey.'" She grinned at me. "That's something, right?"

"I'll tell Matt to stop being a dick and actually acknowledge your existence, okay?" I told her.

Her eyes widened. "No, don't!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because then he'll know that I've been talking to him," she said, like it should've been obvious.

I rolled my eyes, and then checked my cell phone. "I gotta get home and make sure that the stripper is keeping her hands to herself." I smirked at Caroline. "See ya later, Care Bear."

When I got back to the boarding house, I found Damon and Sage in the living room, drinking. I walked up to the couch Damon was sitting on and sat down in his lap. Then I grabbed his drink and finished it.

Damon smirked and kissed me quickly. He tasted like bourbon and blood. "We were just talking about you, Hails," he said cheerfully, choosing to ignore the tension between Sage and me.

Sage looked at me carefully. "Yes, Damon was just telling me about you being a fairy-vampire hybrid," she said casually.

My eyebrows furrowed when she mentioned fairies. It made me think of Bella. I really wanted to know how Sage knew about her and fairies. From what I knew, most people thought that fairies weren't real. I guess that the older vampires knew better, and Sage was 900 years old.

I shrugged. "There's not much to tell. I can move things with my mind and I have really crappy visions."

"And you see ghosts," Damon reminded me.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

That surprisingly interested sage. "You see ghosts?" she asked.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, but my ring prevents me from actually_seeing_them. I don't really want to, so I keep it on at all times." I wiggled my fingers to show off my ring.

Her eyes went wide, as if she couldn't believe it. I raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

Sage shook her head. "Nothing," she said, but there was a determined look in her eyes.

My eyebrows furrowed. First, she knew Bella somehow, and now she's acting weird when I told her I could see ghosts. Sage definitely knew more about fairies than she was letting on.

_**~EL~**_

I woke up in the middle of the night to yet another nightmare. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, but when I looked to the other side of the bed, it was empty. I frowned and ran a hand through my messy bed hair. Where was Damon?

I got out of bed, deciding that I could use a drink. That was probably what Damon was doing, anyway. Whenever he couldn't sleep, he'd drink. I padded down the hallway; pulling down the boxer shorts I was wearing as I did.

"Damon, are you-" I started to say as I walked down the stairs, into the living room, but then I cut myself off, my eyes widening at the sight.

Damon wasn't alone in the living room. Sage was with him. Her lips dangerously close to his. I barely saw his eyebrows furrow in confusion before she kissed him.

"_You. Little. Bitch."_

Not even a second passed and I had the skank by her red hair. I ripped her off of Damon, and pinned her against a wall by her throat._"I warned you," _I said through gritted teeth, before punching her.

Sage was a boxer. She was more than capable of fighting back. As blood dripped from her nose, she punched me in the jaw, causing me to groan in pain. She used my momentary distraction to slip from my grasp.

But I was in pissed off, crazy bitch mode. I grabbed her arm and broke it before she could run away. The sickening crack only fanned the flames of anger inside me. I dug my fingers into her face, drawing blood. Sage gritted her teeth in pain, but then kneed me in the stomach.

I doubled over and then Sage kneed me in the face. I fell over, and then she ran from the room and out of the boarding house. "Coward," I muttered, sitting up and wiping the blood from my nose. I flinched as I snapped it back into place. The last thing I needed was a crooked nose.

"Hailey…"

My gaze snapped over to Damon, who watched me helplessly. I glared at him, gritting my teeth. I didn't know what had been going on between him and Sage. Had she been flirting with him the entire time? Had he not told me because he liked it? Was he going to kiss her back? Was this not the first time they kissed?

"Save it, Damon," I snapped, standing.

"Hailey, I didn't-" he tried to say, but I was already walking away from.

"I don't want to hear it, okay?" I stomped up the stairs and then slammed the bedroom door shut, breaking it a little. Damon didn't try to talk to me the rest of the night.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**thank you to: MissCaityGrace, JellyBear7, kate, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	13. the apology dinner

**Chapter thirteen**

**The apology dinner**

*Hailey*

I stayed in bed the next morning, just staring up at the ceiling. I didn't want to face Damon. I didn't want to face the harsh betrayal I felt. So, I just stared up at the ceiling, like I wasn't having the worst week with men.

First, my brother told me he didn't want me, then the love of my life cheated on me with a slutty redheaded

skank he used to sleep with. I was praying that he hadn't actually cheated, though. I was praying that she had been the one who had initiated the kiss and that he had been going to stop it. I prayed that nothing more had happened between them.

Because I could never be with a man who cheated on me, no matter how much I loved him. I respected myself too much.

I sighed and ran a hand over my face. I had to face Damon sometime. We had to talk. And I had to control the urge to slap him. I just didn't want to leave my warm, comfortable bed and face the harsh reality of the real world.

Half an hour later, I walked down the stairs fully dressed. I didn't know whether or not to expect Damon waiting for me. He hadn't chased after me when I ran away last night. But maybe that was because he knew that he would only make things worse, trying to talk some sense to me when I was still angry and pissed and upset. It was best to let me calm down first.

Still, I was a little surprised when I found Damon in the living room, waiting for me. I just pretended like he wasn't there and walked straight towards the kitchen. He watched me anxiously while I decided that I still wasn't over him and Sage making out. I had some passive aggressive girlfriend attitude still left inside of me.

"Hailey." Damon sighed and followed me into the kitchen. I didn't bother to look at him while I poured coffee into a mug and added cream to it.

"Are you just going to not talk to me ever again?" he frowned at me, and I didn't answer. Yeah, I still had some ill feelings about that kiss.

I added a spoon of sugar, since I loved coffee but hated how bitter it was. As I stirred my drink, Damon sighed, frustrated. "You are the most stubborn pain in the ass I've ever met," he told me and I smirked.

I took a long sip of my coffee before finally facing Damon. "Can I help you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

As Damon opened his mouth to speak, the memory of Sage's slutty lips on his made rage flow through my veins like blood. My eyes darkened, and before I could stop myself, I slapped him across the face.

I rubbed my hand as I Damon placed a hand over the red handprint on his cheek. "Well, that hurt," he said finally.

I narrowed my eyes at him and set my coffee down._"You cheated on me," _I hissed at him, before going to walk around him.

But Damon grabbed my arm before I could get away. "I didn't, Hailey. That's the thing. I would_never_cheat on you," he insisted, though he seemed happy that I was done pretending like he didn't exist.

"But you did," I retorted, pulling my arm away from his grasp. "Or, at least, it seemed like you did."

"I didn't, Hailey," Damon told me, his eyes never leaving mine, as if eye contact would help convince me that he had remained faithful to me. "I didn't, okay? Sage kissed _me._That doesn't count as cheating. I would've pushed her off of me if you hadn't kicked her ass first."

I smirked slightly, but it quickly fell away. "Was this the first time she made a move on you?" I whispered, finding myself believing his words. There was a tone of honesty in his voice that I couldn't ignore.

Damon's eyes shifted away from me. "Well, there was a flirting-" I gave him a look that had the intensity to kill, and he quickly added "One-sided, of course!" my gaze softened only a little bit. "I thought it was harmless," Damon continued. "And if I told you about it, I knew you'd rip her heart out faster than Sage could even begin to defend herself."

I shrugged. That was true. "But that was the first time she kissed you?" Damon nodded. "And you didn't kiss her back?" he shook his head. I sighed and pushed my bangs out of my eyes. "Fine, I guess I kind of forgive you."

Damon smiled slightly then pulled me in for a kiss. When I struggled against him and muttered, "I said_kind of,"_he sighed and kissed me on the forehead instead.

"I can work with 'kind of,'" he told me with a slight smirk.

I smiled despite myself and stretched up on my tiptoes to kiss him.

_**~EL~**_

That night, I was just sitting around the living room, nursing a glass of bourbon, when I suddenly smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen. I smiled and got up off of the couch. Damon was cooking me an "I'm sorry I let that skanky redhead stay here and then kiss me" dinner.

"What're you making?" I asked, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the doorway. Damon was humming to himself as he cooked. I watched him chop up chicken and then toss it into a pan.

"You'll just have to wait patiently and find out, Miss Ellis," he replied. "But wait. I forgot that Hailey Ellis doesn't do patient."

I stuck my tongue out at him and Damon rolled his eyes. I walked up to his other side and reached out for his knife so that I could chop up the rest of the chicken. "Here, let me he-"

I cut myself off with a squeal; place my hands over my ass as Damon smirked to himself, a wooden spoon in his hand. "Did you just _spank me?" _I demanded, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Go sit down," He ordered, pointing with his spoon at the table. "Or I'll have to do it again."

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "Spanking. Kinky." I smirked to myself as I slowly walked towards the table. "Save it for the bedroom, Damon."

He chuckled and went back to preparing our dinner. I hummed to myself and tapped my fingers impatiently on the wooden table. It wasn't that I wanted to help Damon- I was lazy and lazy people generally didn't like to help- it was that I was bored and I hated waiting.

"Hailey, you tap your fingers one more time, I will personally remove them from your hand," Damon called pleasantly from the stove, the chicken sizzling and hissing as he fried it.

I stuck my tongue out again at his back but stopped my tapping. Instead, I studied my power-controlling ring, the black onyx stone bringing out the blueness of the stone in my daylight ring. I frowned as I studied it. I had forgotten that if I took of my ring, I'd see ghosts again. My conversation with Sage had reminded me of it. She seemed very interested in my ability to see ghosts. Did her interest have anything to do with her past with Bella?

"And dinner is served."

I came out of my thoughts and looked down at the delicious meal placed in front of me, steam still rising from it. I smiled as Damon kissed the top of my head before sitting down in front of me.

"Thanks," I said, taking a bite. "It's really good."

"Would you expect anything less from me?" Damon asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, gesturing with his fork to himself. I rolled my eyes playfully before taking another bite of chicken.

As we ate, Damon placed his hand on my knee. I smiled as I swallowed and pushed my bangs out of my eyes. I knew that he also made me dinner to make sure that Sage hadn't pulled us apart. She hadn't. Even though I had been angry and hurt and betrayed, I still loved Damon. I wouldn't let that slut win.

I leaned across the table and kissed Damon. His lips were warm against mine. The kiss quickly became something more passionate and intense, and I soon found myself sitting on the table, my legs wrapped around Damon's waist.

As Damon's hands slipped under my shirt and played with the clasp of my bra, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Damon and I both groaned into each other's mouths at the same time.

"Maybe if we ignore it, they'll go away," I suggested, wrapping my arms around Damon's neck.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed, before his mouth was back on mine. He successfully unhooked my bra, and the straps fell down my shoulders.

But the knocker became more insistent, practically pounding on the door. I sighed and pulled away from Damon before jumping down. "I'll be back in a minute, I promise," I told Damon. "I just have to rip out a throat."

I hooked my bra back on and smoothed down my hair and clothes, so that it wouldn't look like I had gotten to second base on a kitchen table. "What do you want?" I asked grumpily, opening the front door, before my eyes widened and my jaw dropped slightly.

"Hailey," Jace said awkwardly, nodding down at me. "Can- can we talk?"

"No," I said bluntly, glaring at him. "Rot in hell."

I slammed the door in his face and marched away from the door. Damon was suddenly in front of me, buttoning up his shirt while frowning. "Was that him?" he asked me, suddenly looking serious.

I nodded and ran a hand through my hair. "Damon, don't worry about-" I started to say, but Damon was already walking past me.

"I just wanna talk to him," he told me. "I won't be five minutes."

I sighed and walked into the living room. I settled on a couch and pulled my knees up to my chin. If Damon wanted to waste his time with Jace, that was his decision. I wanted nothing to do with my half-brother anymore.

I could still hear their conversation, though. I didn't bother to try to block it out- I was curious as to what Damon wanted to tell Jace._"-Just let me talk to her," _Jace was insisting.

"_She doesn't want to talk to you,"_Damon replied coldly._"Can you not take a hint?"_

"_I don't care,"_Jace replied, and it sounded like he was trying to push his way past him.

"_Look, I don't care if you're some transgender fire fairy," _Damon started to say, I could practically hear Jace's anger radiate from him._"I'm a vampire and more than capable of ripping you to shreds. I'd be extra nice to me right now, because you're not exactly my favorite person at the moment."_

Despite the fact that Jace didn't know he was facing a vampire, he didn't sound intimidated._"Just let me talk to my sister."_

"_Oh, so _now _Hailey's your sister."_Damon's voice had taken on a sarcastic tone._"Because I remember a few days ago when she came home, upset over how you didn't want her as a sister. Now, I let her mom treat her like shit, and then she killed her. I'm not going to make the same mistake again." _Damon paused, and I could almost see his smirk._"You might want to learn from Holly, though. I killed her, you know. I have no qualms about killing another Ellis."_

Despite the fact that Damon was threatening my brother, I couldn't help but smile. I loved it when he got protective of me._"Just let me talk to my sister,"_Jace repeated quietly.

"_No." _Damon's tone made it clear that Jace wouldn't be talking to me as long as he was alive. I heard Jace sigh, and then footsteps leading away from the boarding house. The door slammed, and a few seconds later Damon was in front of me.

"Did you hear all that?" he asked as he sat down next to me.

I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. I kissed him softly; silently thanking him for everything he had done for me that night. But as I pulled away, I sighed.

"What?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"I have to do something," I told him. "Something I really don't want to do."

"What's that?" he asked, though I was sure he knew.

"I have to talk to my brother."

_**~EL~ **_

**A/N:**thank you to: colleenrawr, Samantha Meyers, MissCaityGrace, SomebodyWhoCares, and Synyster.A7X

for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	14. hybrids

**Chapter fourteen**

**Hybrids**

*Hailey*

Instead of calling Jace, I decided just to drive out to Casper Heights the next day to see him. The only reason I wanted to see my half-brother face-to-face is because I owed him a hard slap across the face.

I decided to stop at Slim's first. I managed to find the small bar easily. It was next to the alley where I told my brother about our fairy heritage and where I broke a refrigerator. It was ten in the morning, so the bar was closed. I didn't bother to knock. I just walked right in.

I looked around the bar, but it was empty. Beer bottles littered the tables along with used napkins and dirty plates. I heard a country song being played from the speakers and I wrinkled my nose. I hated country music. Drunken Hailey loved country, though.

"Dude, we're cl-" I looked up as Chuck came into the room, but he stopped when he saw me. I smirked at my brother's partner in crime. He was cute, just short. I always had a rule that any guy I dated had to be taller than me, especially since I was so short myself.

"

Oh, Jace's hot, taken half-sister. What are you doing here?" he asked pleasantly. My eyebrows furrowed and I suddenly wondered if Jace told Chuck the truth. About everything. About his "pyromania," about the supernatural. About him being a fairy and me being a fairy-vampire hybrid. They were best friends, after all. Though I hadn't told Elena the truth, so there was a chance that Jace hadn't told his best friend either.

Chuck didn't look at me like I was a freak, though. He didn't look at me like he was afraid of me. He just looked at me like I was his best friend's hot little sister. I blew my bangs out of my eyes. "It's Hailey," I told him. "And I'm looking for Jace. Is he here?"

Chuck shook his head. "I haven't seen him since last night. He skipped his shift to go talk to you," he explained.

I

bit my lip. "What'd he say to you?" I asked curiously.

"I think is exact words were 'I screwed up with my sister. I have to go talk to her. Work my shift for me?' I did, because I got the numbers of the hot, drunk girls that Jace usually gets." He smirked, smug.

"Yeah, well, we didn't talk. Not really. I slammed the door in his face before he could get more than three words out." I pushed a piece of hair behind my ear. "I guess I'll have to break into his apartment, then."

"There's a spare key under the mat," Chuck said cheerfully. "Your brother sucks at picking out secret hiding places."

"Good to know." I turned my back on him and walked towards the door.

"Hailey," Chuck said suddenly, and I stopped walking.

"Yeah?" I turned around and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you two really fighting because you two are fairies and you're some freaky fairy-vampire hybrid?" Chuck asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

I froze, my eyes widening.

So Jace _did _tell Chuck the truth.

I quickly focused my hearing on the bar to try to hear if there was anyone else that could overhear us. It was just Chuck and me in the bar, though. If worse came to worse, I could always compel him.

"Yep, basically," I said casually, hoping up on the bar and pushing my bangs out of my eyes. "Jace really told you?" I asked skeptically.

"Jace tells me everything. We've been Best friends since the womb. Our moms worked together, and they both got knocked up around the same time. I've known him my entire life. I know everything about him and he tells me everything- mostly because you can get the truth out of that guy with a shot of tequila and half a beer." Chuck shook his head, as if ashamed by my brother.

"He told me the truth about his pyromania when he was first diagnosed with it- though it's not really pyromania is it? He admitted to me when we were sixteen, over a bottle of bourbon that he thought there was more to his pyromania than the doctors thought. Then he set a pile of leaves on fire without any lighters or matches or anything. We never talked about it after that. He always insisted that he was the normal kind of crazy, not the supernatural kind.

"And then, a few days after you two showed up at the bar, he blurted out what you told him. Granted, he was drunk and had a half-naked Cara hanging off of him. But once he sobered up and sent Cara packing, he told me everything."

"And you believed him?" my eyebrows furrowed.

Chuck shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Why?" I asked.

"Is it true?" he shot back.

"Yes," I said simply. "But why were you so quick to think it's true?"

Chuck shrugged again. "I've always believed that there was something supernatural out there. Besides, Jace believed it. And Jace Andrews is a lot of things- alcoholic, manwhore, pyro, jackass, and a good friend just being a few- but he's not a liar. He's too impatient to lie. It just wastes time. So, yeah, I believed Jace because I knew he wasn't lying."

At that moment, no matter how pissed off I was at Jace, I was glad that he had a friend like Chuck. He truly was to Jace what Elena was to me, only more fun.

"So," Chuck said, suddenly looking at me curiously. "It's true? You're a fairy-vampire hybrid?"

I nodded, smirking. "Wanna see my fangs?"

I was surprised by Chuck's lack of fear. I had been afraid of Damon when I first found out about vampires. But I suppose that he had had time to sort through his thoughts about vampires. And he was just an easygoing guy in general. Still, he looked wary when I offered to show him my most lethal weapon.

"I think I'm good, Hailey," he said.

I shrugged. "Maybe next time," I said, hoping off the bar.

"Probably not."

I

grinned at Chuck as I walked towards the door. "See you later, Chuck."

He nodded. "Try not to kill Jace- he has to work tonight and I really don't want to cover his shift again."

"No promises," I told him. Then I walked out of the bar to go find my brother.

_**~EL~**_

I opened Jace's apartment with the key hid under his mat. I was surprised to find his apartment spotless. I supposed that Cara had cleaned it during their last hookup. Monster hissed at me from the couch.

"I hope you and Ellie never meet," I told him. "You'd eat her for a snack."

A groan came from the back of the apartment, then my brother stumbled out, his hair messy and sticking up, wearing nothing but boxers.

I covered my eyes and looked away. "Wanna cover up, brother?"

"Hailey?" Jace mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"Chuck told me about the key under the mat. Really original hiding place, Jace," I said sarcastically.

"Freaking Chuck," he muttered, pulling a pair of wrinkled jeans that had been tossed over a La-Z-Boy. Then he ran a hand through his bed hair. "What are you doing here?" he asked quietly.

"We need to talk," I stated bluntly.

"I wanted to talk last night- then your vampire boyfriend threatened to kill me," Jace said pointedly, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

I rolled my eyes. "You hurt me- Damon gets protective. I wouldn't have let him do it."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I hurt you?" he seemed surprised.

I shifted uncomfortably. "No…"

Jace sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry, okay? When I get in the heat of the moment, I say things I don't mean. I'm a jackass, having no filter comes with the territory."

I looked down at my boots. "You said you wish I wasn't your sister," I said quietly. Even thinking the words still stung. "Now I had one family member who didn't want anything to do with me. I'm not going to put up with another one."

"I didn't mean it, Hailey," Jace insisted. "Really. Despite being some fairy-vampire hybrid, you're not a terrible chick to have as a little sister."

I rolled my eyes. "I guess I could do worse than have you as a brother," I said finally.

Jace grinned. "Is this when we have a group hug?" he asked sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. You, me, and Monster."

"Monster's a pretty cuddly dude." He made to pick up his gigantic cat, nearly losing a finger.

"Now that we have our big, happy family moment out of the way, can we talk about what we really need to talk about?" I asked, sitting down on the couch.

Jace sighed. "All that supernatural shit?" he asked, deflating.

I nodded, a twisted grin on my lips. "Yeah, all that supernatural shit."

He was quiet for a few moments. "I'm really a fairy, aren't I?"

I nodded again. "You are."

"And you're a fairy and a vampire, aren't you?"

"I am."

He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair. "Can you explain everything? And take it slowly, please."

I nodded. "We're going to be here awhile. We have a lot to cover."

Jace offered me a sarcastic smile. "I can't wait."

_**~EL~**_

"Wait, so your mom_k illed _you?"

I nodded, tossing back the shot Jace handed me. "Shot me because Katherine compelled her to think I was a vampire. A bit ironic, how I became a vampire because of that."

Jace shook his head. "And I thought my mom was bad," he muttered, drinking straight from the bottle he had in his grip. "This Katherine sounds like a major bitch. A hot bitch, but still a bitch. And she looks like Elena?"

I

nodded. "Like how I looked like Bella and Victoria and every fairy from Bella's line- except for you."

He frowned. "Why is that, exactly? How am I a fairy if I'm not a chick and I don't have telekinesis and visions?" he asked.

"That's the question. Maybe it was a kink in the spell or something. I don't know. But you're a fairy- a fire fairy." I grinned at him.

He shook his head. "Well, that makes me feel a little bit more masculine."

I laughed, getting tipsy from the alcohol. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Jace stood up and made his way to the door, stumbling and tripping every now and then. "What?" he said bluntly, before his whole face darkened.

"What do you want, Maggie?" he asked quietly.

"What happened to 'mom?'" the person on the other side of the door asked.

"You stopped acting like one," he retorted.

I

found myself standing up, stumbling and tripping my way over to Jace. I leaned against my brother for support as I stared up at his mother, Annie. "So, you're the woman my dad knocked up twenty one years ago," I said bluntly.

Maggie Andrews was tall and blonde and pretty, even for a middle aged woman. I bet that a young, drunk, newly married man couldn't have resisted her twenty-one years ago. She watched me through hazel eyes, seeming wary about my presence.

"You're Will's daughter?" she asked.

I nodded. "Hailey Ellis. A pleasure, I'm sure." I smirked up at my brother's mother.

Something clicked in Maggie's eyes. I saw it happen. Wariness turned to recognition. Her nose wrinkled slightly in what could have only been disgust.

At that moment, new something for certain. Maggie knew what I was. Whether she knew I was a fairy or a vampire or both, I didn't know. But she knew something.

Still, when I offered Maggie my hand, she took it. As her larger hand closed around mine, my eyes widened and we both gasped at the same time. She yanked her hand away from me, but I was already stumbling backwards.

"

Hailey?" Jace's eyebrows furrowed. "Maggie?"

My eyes were wide as I stared at my brother's mother. She stared back at me with a look of disgust and horror and even slight fear. When our hands touched, something went off inside my head. Like a warning, almost.

And I knew how Maggie Andrews knew what I was.

She was a witch. I felt it.

I didn't know much about witches. But what little I knew about genetics told me that if Maggie was a witch, which would make Jace a witch too.

I wasn't the only hybrid in the Ellis family.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**thank you to: SomebodyWhoCares, Samantha meyers, SageX13, and THE VOLTURI RULE for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	15. witch bitch

**Chapter fifteen**

**Witch bitch**

*Hailey*

Jace looked, obviously confused, back and forth between his mother and me. He had no idea what Maggie was- of course he didn't. The truth about the supernatural had come as a shock to him.

"What's going on?" Jace asked, settling his gaze on me.

I didn't take my eyes off of Maggie. I didn't trust witches. The last witch I met tried to kill me and steal Damon from me on the same day. And Maggie clearly didn't trust me, the fairy-vampire hybrid.

"Do you want to tell him or should I?" I asked my father's one-time mistress, my tone dry and sarcastic.

Maggie seemed to realize then that her son was in the room and her eyes widened. "You have to get out of here, Jace. She's dangerous!" she exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.

Jace's eyebrows furrowed. "Hailey, you mean? Why, because she's a-" he cut himself off and slowly started to realize that his mom knew about me, about the supernatural. "You know what Hailey is." that wasn't a question. "How?"

"She's a witch, Jace," I told him bluntly, walking up to his side. "They just know these things. They're also not too fond of vampires or fairies, both of which I happen to be."

Jace's eyes widened. "You're a witch?" he asked his mom and she looked down at the floor, sheepish.

"I stopped practicing magic when you were born," she told him, as if that would make everything better. "I only use my magic on occasion now."

"But you still knew your son was a fairy," I said, eyebrows furrowed as I tried to figure everything out. "You must've known. You also knew he'd be a witch, too. That he had magic in him. Yet, I didn't sense him to be a witch like I did with you. Why is that?"

Maggie gave me a disgusted look. "I'm' not going to explain myself to you, hybrid." I rolled my eyes. Witches were so judgmental.

Maggie looked back at Jace. "Come on. Leave with me and I'll explain everything," she pleaded. She obviously didn't want Jace anywhere near me.

He didn't move an inch. "You knew what I was, didn't you? You knew there was more to my acts of arson, my pyromania, my burning down the kitchen when I was nine. I told you three times that I thought there was something wrong with me, but you just kept telling me I was a pyro and that there was nothing wrong with that. But, you _knew. _Even before I did. That's why you stopped being a real mother to me. You didn't want to be the mom of a fairy." he gave her a disgusted look.

"Jace, that's not what-" she cut herself off because she knew he was right. "I love you, honey," she tried again.

Jace wasn't moved. "You can explain everything right here and now, in front of my sister," he said stubbornly.

Maggie sighed and I smirked victoriously. She was just as bad as my mom, that witch bitch.

"I didn't know Will was a carrier when I… met him," she started.

"When you banged him in some seedy motel in a shady neighborhood," I corrected her bluntly. It was the truth. What she and my dad had was just some drunken affair, not two college friends getting coffee like she was trying to make it sound like.

Maggie glared at me before continuing. "But when you were born, Jace, I sensed something. I knew that you were something other than a witch. And then you always had this strange attraction to fire, but it was more than pyromania… you controlled the fire, I saw you do it numerous times. Then one of my friends suggested that you were a fairy somehow and I knew it was true. I also knew that, being half-fairy and half-witch, you' be powerful- too powerful. So, when you were twelve, I cast a spell to make your magic dormant, before your fairy powers would completely mature. That's why a fairy or another witch wouldn't sense you to be a witch," she explained.

Jace's eyebrows furrowed again. "I'm a fairy and a witch?" he whispered, stunned.

Maggie nodded. "You still have magic, it's just dormant."

He looked deflated at being two of the unmanliness things in the world. I snickered slightly; causing Jace to glare at me, eyes silently saying _shut the hell up._

"Jace, please understand-" Maggie tried to say, but his glare aimed at her cut her off.

"I don't care, Maggie. Okay? There's nothing you can say to make your lack of parenting a good thing," he deadpanned, indifferent almost. But I saw a flash of pain in his eyes. Your mother was supposed to be that one person who always accepted you, who loved you unconditionally. They called you smart when you were a dumbass. They called you beautiful when you had a horse face. They loved you even if you were a terrible person. Somehow Jace and I unluckily got stuck with the two most selfish mothers in the world, the worst mothers. The mothers who turned their backs on their children. My dad knew how to pick them.

But as quick as it came, that hurt was gone. He steeled himself and then turned to face me. "Come on, Hailey. I'll take you home. You're too drunk to drive."

I didn't argue with him. I knew exactly what he was going through. I just silently followed my brother as we marched past Maggie, who just watched us helplessly, and down the stairs to the parking lot.

"Jace-" I started to say when we reached the parking lot, but he cut me off.

"Save it, Hailey. My mom's a bitch. She's a neglecting, lying, selfish bitch. She knew what I was. I was going through an identity crisis when I was seventeen, thinking I was freaking insane, and instead of telling me the truth, she lied to me!" Jace's face was contorted in anger and his voice echoed around the parking lot. "She didn't even lie to me for my own good- she did it because she didn't want to have the freaky hybrid as a son. She's a selfish bitch, and I hate her."

I watched Jace with my arms crossed over my chest as he struggled to regain composure. He ran a hand over his face, breathing hard. Then a puddle of gasoline lit on fire, and he jumped slightly.

"Our powers are connected to our emotions. So if you don't calm down, you're going to set the whole place in fire," I told him casually. He took more deep breaths, before the fire went out.

"You good now? Do you have it all out of your system?" I asked him warily and he nodded, eyes still shut and a hand still covering his face. "Good, now take me home like you said you would. I know it was just an excuse to get the hell out of there, but I really am too drunk to drive."

He nodded, before opening his eyes and pulling his hand away. Then he slowly started to walk towards his motorcycle. I laughed humorlessly. "Hell no. I'm not getting on that thing if my life depends on it," I told him.

Jace cracked a smile and I tossed him my car keys. As we got into my car, I said lightly, "Your mom really is a selfish bitch."

His small smile grew. "So was yours, before your vampire boyfriend killed her."

"Must be a hybrid sibling thing."

This caused Jace to laugh slightly. I smiled too. But my mind was stuck on Jace's witchiness. I could have been completely off, but I was sure that him being a witch was somehow related to his abnormal fairy powers. It wasn't just a coincidence. I knew it wasn't.

Coincidences didn't exist. Not for me.

_**~EL~**_

Jace dropped me off at the Grill an hour later.

"Be kind to my baby," I told him. "I'll get her tomorrow."

He smirked at me. "Your Mustang will be fine with me, Hails."

"Hailey!"

Caroline smiled as she walked up to me "I've been texting you-" she frowned when she noticed Jace. "Who's this?"

Jace smirked at Caroline and I frowned at him. I wasn't going to let him hook up with one of my closest friends.

"This is Jace," I said. "Jace, this is Caroline, _my friend." _I was hoping that he'd get the hint and stop undressing Caroline with his eyes.

Recognition lit up Caroline's blue eyes and she raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so_you're_the douche-dick half-brother," she said.

I grinned, but Jace wasn't shaken. "Sounds about right," he said, a glint still in his eyes when he looked at Caroline.

"We like Jace now," I told Caroline and she smiled.

"Oh, okay then. It's nice to meet you Jace," she said cheerfully.

"You too, Caroline," he said, smirking again. "See you around." He looked at me. "Talk to you later, sis."

I frowned at Jace as he turned to walk away. "Don't get any ideas, Jace," I warned him. He just winked at me before walking back to my car. I sighed as I turned back to Caroline.

My brother was such a manwhore.

_**~EL~**_

I was sitting at the bar, a glass of bourbon in my hand. Caroline had left an hour ago, and I was waiting for Damon to show up so that I didn't look like a pathetic drunk who drank by herself. But as I was starting on my third glass, white-hot pain stabbed me in the head and I gasped. I closed my eyes, but the pain didn't go away.

I was having a vision in the middle of the bar.

I saw flashes, nothing solid. This sometimes happened when I was drunk or had vervain left over in my system. Right now, it was the first one. I saw flashes of woods, dark and green. Then there was a path, a tunnel, leading down into the earth. Then there was a flash of a dark room, the only source of light coming from a torch on the wall. In the room were five coffin-like structures, only they were made of stone. They were old, too. Carved into each stone coffin were words, only I couldn't read them. The language was old, very old. Viking era, maybe.

The pain disappeared from my head and I opened my eyes. The flashes were over. My strange vision was over. What was my vision about? The room with the ancient language, it looked almost like a tomb. An old, ancient tomb.

Creepy.

"Hailey? Are you okay?"

I looked up to meet concerned filled icy blue eyes belonging to Damon. I nodded slowly and pushed my bangs out of my eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him.

"Did you just have a vision?" he asked me and I nodded again.

"About an old Viking tomb," I answered and Damon raised an eyebrow.

"I'll explain later. Let's just go home. I'm really tired." I stood up, and Damon led the way out of the Grill.

The night was cool, the stars shining bright and the moon big in the sky. Damon and I slowly set off down the empty street. He slid an arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him. Our cute, couple-y moment was ruined, though. It was always ruined.

Damon was suddenly slammed against a nearby wall, and he groaned when he came in contact with the bricks. I frowned, confused by what was going on. "What the-"

A hand suddenly went over my mouth, arms wrapping around my body. I struggled, kicking and thrashing, but my attacker was too strong. He was a vampire, older than me. "Come with us without putting up a fight and we won't kill your boyfriend," a clear, cool voice rang out from behind me. My eyes found Damon, held by another vampire.

What the hell was going on?

I kicked my holder in the groin, causing him to groan. I pulled away, out of his arms, and waved my hand so that his head slammed into the concrete sidewalk. I turned to face Damon, but then the other vampire grabbed me by the hair and threw me into the wall.

"Don't kill her! He needs her alive!" the vampire I kicked in the balls hissed at the other vampire. I groaned and slid down to the ground. They wanted me. Of course they wanted me.

My eyes found Damon, a few feet away from me. He had regained his strength and was standing up to fight back. Then one of the vampires grabbed a nearby stick and shoved it into his chest.

"No!" I screamed, eyes wide, praying that they missed his heart. Damon groaned in pain and fell to the ground, but he didn't turn gray. I sighed in relief.

"Are you done fighting-" The other vampire started to say, then he froze and his eyes widened. I watched the vampire next to him do the same thing. Then bloody holes formed in their chests where their hearts used to be, and they fell forward.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but my main priority at that moment was making sure Damon was alive. I crawled over to him and yanked the stick out of his chest. He groaned, but was still alive.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, feeling as if I had a few broken ribs myself.

"Just peachy," he said in a rough voice, before looking back up where the two dead bodies were. Then his eyes widened to the size of soccer balls. "What the hell…"

I looked where he was looking and I froze. At first, I thought I was seeing things, but she was real. The woman, in her mid-twenties, had her head down, her glossy black hair hiding most of her face. She was wiping her bloody hands clean on one of the dead vampire's shirt. Her appearance was immaculate. Her white dress was wrinkle free, not a drop of blood on it. She was short, long black hair, pale skin. And when she looked up at us, a pair of bright green eyes met my own. She smiled kindly at me, looking nothing like a woman who had just ripped two beating hearts from chests. She looked kind, motherly.

She looked exactly like me.

"We haven't met before," she said in a clear voice, identical to mine. "I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**So, if you read True Love Never Dies (like I strongly recommend you to do) you would've already known that Bella's alive.

Thank you to: MissCaityGrace, Lady Syndra, JellyBear7, Kelsey, AudreyDarke96, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	16. Bella

**Chapter sixteen**

**Bella**

*Hailey*

I stared up at Bella, eyes wide. She was dead. Her husband killed her in front of her children a thousand years ago. Yet, she was standing in front of me. I wasn't the only one who saw her either. Damon was staring at the original fairy in shock. And then Sage's reaction to me made sense. She knew Bella was alive- at least, in a way- but she didn't correct me when I told her Bella was dead.

My conversation with Gemma a year ago- when I was figuring out how to no see ghosts by talking to a ghost- made sense too. She said that Bella's current state was "complicated." I guess that being a fairy-vamp hybrid was complicated.

Icouldn't get over her resemblance to me, though. Or, actually, my resemblance to her. But, the longer I stared at Bella; I realized the biggest difference- the only difference- in our looks. Bella looked at least five years older than me, and it showed. It wasn't like with Victoria, when there wasn't any difference because we were around the same age. But Bella looked at least twenty-three. The age difference made me feel better.

Bella smiled understandingly down at me. "I know this is a lot to take in-" she started to say, but I cut her off.

"You're dead," I said bluntly, standing up. "You died a thousand years ago."

"Yes, I was dead," Bella, said evenly. "And then I wasn't."

I shook my head. Bella was a vampire. The original fairy of my bloodline was a fairy-vampire hybrid, just like me. I had so many questions for her, I was so confused. How did she turn? Why was she here? I was so confused.

Bella seemed to read my mind. "I know, Hailey," she said, and my eyebrows furrowed. How did she know my name? "I'll explain everything in time, I promise. But I think you need to take care of your vampire, and I have certain things I need to check up on. I haven't been here in centuries," she said the last part quietly, more to herself than to me.

"Wait, Bella-" I started to say, but she was gone before I could even finish my sentence. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Well, hasn't this just been a day full of revelations?" I muttered, turning to Damon. Bella was alive and kicking. Jace was half-witch and half-fairy. I had a vision about some weird Viking tomb. Vampires who wanted me alive for only God knows why had just attacked me.

"So, Bella's alive. How come I feel like that isn't the biggest thing you've found out today?" Damon asked as I helped him stand up.

I shrugged. "It definitely makes the top five."

"Do I even want to know what happened today that trumps your fairy ancestor being alive and saving our lives?" Damon asked me with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably not, but I'm going to tell you anyway." Damon and I began to clean up the mess Bella made. I grabbed the hearts while Damon grabbed the bodies. "Jace's mom is a witch, which makes Jace a witch too. So my brother's a hybrid, just like me."

"Great, that's awesome," Damon said sarcastically. "Because your history with witches is good, and now you're related to one."

"Jace's witch bitch of a mom made his magic dormant before it completely developed. So, technically, he's only a fairy. But he has a witch blood in him," I explained. Damon and I walked to his car and dumped the vampires in the trunk. Then we drove towards the ravine, to dump the bodies.

"What do you think they wanted?" I asked after minutes of silence in the car. Damon knew whom I was talking about.

"You, Hailey," he said casually. "They wanted you."

"Why?" I asked, eyebrows furrowed.

He shrugged. "I think they were lackeys- just delivery men. They had orders to keep you alive, so I'm guessing their boss wants you for something." I noticed Damon's tight grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles white. He was concerned, I knew. Hell, I was concerned too.

"Bella knows," I said suddenly, looking at Damon. "She has to. I mean, it could be a coincidence, that lackey vampires come to get me the same time she shows up to Mystic Falls for the first time in centuries, but…"

"But there are no such things as coincidences. Not for us," Damon finished for me. "Bella knows something."

I knew I had to talk to Bella, to get the answers to my questions. But I didn't trust Bella. I didn't know what she wanted, why she was alive. I didn't know anything about her. I didn't trust her. So I'd have to be careful when talking to her.

Even being a badass fairy-vampire hybrid, I was no match for an original fairy-vampire hybrid, a woman a thousand years older than me. Even, with my pride, I knew that.

_**~EL~**_

My dreams that night were more like a montage of every nightmare vision I had had over the past weeks. Seven times, I died in my dreams. My husband stabbed me and by my sister three different times, and witches killed me three different times as well. And then, at the end of my nightmare vision, I saw the Viking tomb again. Five stone coffins in the room, engraved with Viking script. Carved in the ceiling were more letters, letters I would never be able to read.

I gasped as I woke up. I tripped and stumbled to the ground, landing on the hard rock and cutting my bare-knees and hands. My eyebrows furrowed and I looked around the room I was in. It definitely wasn't my bedroom.

I couldn't see anything; the room I was in was pitch black. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I carefully stood up. I had been sleepwalking. Again. It was the Ellis manor all over again.

But where was I? I couldn't see a thing. How was I going to get home?

The room was suddenly filled with light. I looked around to see that I was I a cave of some sort, a familiar cave, though I've never been there in my life.

I was in the Viking tomb. I sighed. Of course.

I turned around to see where the light had come from. There was a lit torch on the wall, and, standing in the entry way was none other than Bella. She smiled slightly at me and crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing the same white dress she had been wearing hours earlier.

"Sleep walking I assume?" she asked, walking slowly towards me. I nodded stiffly and pulled the boxer shorts I was wearing farther down my leg. I was lucky vampires couldn't get cold, since I was wearing only boxers and a tank top.

"I've done that before," Bella said almost nostalgically. "The places you'll end up if someone's not watching you carefully. I once sleep walked right into a river. I'm lucky vampires can't drown. It took three hours for Elijah to find me. I was still asleep when he finally did."

I knew Bella was just telling me random stories to get me feeling comfortable, like there was nothing weird about talking to a thousand year old fairy that looked exactly like me. Still, I couldn't help but to frown. "Who's Elijah?" I asked.

Bella raised an eyebrow at that. "You weren't taught your history on vampires, weren't you?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Please, I can barely stay awake through American history, let alone vampire history," I said.

Bella smiled. "Elijah is one of the six original vampires," she told me. "He's also the love of my existence, as dramatic as that sounds."

I raised my eyebrows. "The original fairy and the original vampire."

Bella's eyes suddenly became sad and her smile faltered. "Yes, Elijah and I have been together a thousand years," she told me. The way she said Elijah's name was so filled with love, it didn't sound like they've been together a thousand years. It still sounded like they were in the honeymoon stage. I wondered if I sounded the same way when I said Damon's name.

"Did he change you?" I asked curiously.

Bella shook her head. "No, he did not. Technically, no vampire changed me."

At first, I thought that that wasn't possible. Then I remembered that, technically, no vampire changed me either. The ring did. I looked down at the ring on my finger. Bella nodded at it.

"That was originally mine," she told me. "Luckily, I was wearing it when my husband drove his sword into my heart."

My eyebrows furrowed. I remembered Victoria telling me that she was married and had two sons, yet she was clearly in love with this Elijah. I was so confused. Bella noticed my expression and smiled apologetically.

"My personal history is very long, Hailey, and very complicated. Yes, I was married and my husband killed me. No, my husband wasn't Elijah."

"That does sound very complicated," I agreed.

"I'll tell you everything eventually," she said, and my eyebrows furrowed.

"Why would you?" I asked her.

Now Bella looked confused. "Why wouldn't I? Do you not want to know?"

"Well, yeah, I am curious, I guess, but why would you tell me? Why are you even here? Why did you kill those vampires?" I groaned and ran a hand over my face.

Bella's eyebrows were still furrowed. "All those questions can be answered the same," she told me.

I raised an eyebrow. "How?" I asked.

"We're family, Hailey."

I shook my head. Yet another person claiming to be my family. "No, we're not, Bella. I don't even know you."

"That doesn't not make us family," she argued. "You are a fairy, I am a fairy. Every fairy and every carrier on this earth are our family. You can sense it too, can't you?"

I frowned and started to shake my head, when I felt what she was talking about. It was the same bond I felt with Jace. It was a bond of familiarity. We were family, and I knew that I could trust her.

I sighed and I saw Bella grin victoriously out of the corner of my eye. She knew I knew she was right. I looked away from her and instead looked at the five stone coffins in the room, each engraved with Viking script. I hadn't properly looked in the room since I woke up. I blamed Bella for that. My eyebrows furrowed again. Why was Bella here anyway?

"No offense, but why are you here?" I asked her, looking back at her.

"Just visiting my family," she replied casually.

Somehow, whenever Bella answered one of my questions, I just ended up with more questions. Sensing my displeasure, she continued. "How much do you know about the original fairies, Hailey? About my family?"

I shrugged. "The basics, I guess. Nothing in depth."

"Then allow me to tell you the whole story," she said. "Just to warn you, it's long and complicated and has an almost completely unhappy ending."

"My favorite kind of story," I said sarcastically. "Let's hear it."

As Bella began to tell the story of the original fairies, I realized what she meant by visiting her family. The room we were in really as a tomb. A tomb for the dead fairies.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**SomebodyWhoCares, Samantha meyers, Chanelle4Damon and MulishaMaiden for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	17. the bittersweet ending

**Chapter seventeen**

**The Bittersweet Ending**

*Hailey*

"I was born in the eleventh century," Bella started, slowly pacing the room. "The village I was born in was here, right where Mystic Falls is. I was the fifth child of Erik and Abigail Erikson. My siblings and I were all very close- we were fairies, and the only people who understood us were each other. I loved my family, very much. Even my father, who was prideful and had anger issues. There were worse fathers than him. My mother had fallen ill when I was still young, and it was almost like she was in a coma. Then it was my job to take care of my family and the household. It was my job to hold my family together.

"When I was thirteen years old, I started to have the biggest crush on Elijah Mikaelson. Years went by, and I always thought that I had no chance with him, because it was very well known that Elijah and one of his brothers, Niklaus, were in love with Tatia Petrova- the original doppelganger. You are friends with the latest one, yes? What is her name? Elena, I believe?"

I nodded before raising my eyebrows. "Is Niklaus an original too?" I asked.

An almost twisted smile came on Bella's lips. "Yes, he is. But there is more to Klaus' story than just that, Hailey. I'll tell you it soon enough. Just listen patiently."

I didn't do patient, but I leaned against a wall and waited for Bella to continue her story. "Eventually, Elijah and I fell in love. Tatia wasn't very happy, but she was, pardon my language, a slut. Still, I don't think she truly deserved what she got in the end." Bella frowned slightly while I thought of the original doppelganger. I felt sorry for Elena- she looked like whores.

"I wasn't the only one who fell in love, though. My older sister, Gemma, fell in love with Elijah's younger brother, Kol. It was almost ironic. Those two spent the better part of their lives at each other's throats. Then, all of a sudden, their hate turned into love." Bella shrugged, while I frowned. Gemma, the fairy I talked to all those months ago. If Kol was a vampire still, I knew that their story didn't end happily.

"And then my youngest sister Halia fell for Niklaus. I wasn't very happy, in the beginning. She was so naïve and innocent, and he was known for being a womanizer. She changed him, though. They were genuinely in love, though. So who was I to stop them from being happy?" Bella said, her green eyes suddenly filled with sadness. This Halia-a healing fairy, I remembered- obviously meant a lot to her. And then something bad happened, or so I assumed.

"She wasn't my only sister who fell for Niklaus, though. Adora, my eldest sister, also claimed to love Klaus," Bella continued. "Niklaus only had eyes for Halia, though. So Adora took matters into her own hands." Her voice was bitter yet sad when she said Adora's name.

"Something happened before that, though. Henrik, the youngest Mikaelson, was killed by werewolves. So, in order to protect her remaining family, Esther- their mother, who happened to be a witch- turned her children and husband into vampires. She created the vampire race.

"A few days after that, Adora decided to seek revenge on Halia for taking Niklaus from her. For months, she and my eldest brother Adrian had been working hard to expand their powers, and she succeeded one night. Then she-" Bella cut herself off suddenly and closed her eyes as if the next words she had to say would physically hurt her. "She killed Adrian. And then she set our house on fire and killed our parents. Then she- she…" I saw Bella's fists close tightly, her knuckles turning white. I had a feeling what was going to come next. "And then Adora stabbed Halia, and she died in my arms." Bella finally choked out.

A thousand years had gone by, and Bella still crumbled to tears when she thought of her poor, dead, baby sister.

I didn't say a word. What could I say to that? Bella had said it herself; it was her job to keep her family together, and she failed. And she knew it too.

It seemed like centuries before she finally spoke again. "And then I killed Adora." My eyes widened slightly as Bella opened hers. She was composed now, stoic. I didn't expect Bella to murder her sister, no matter what that bitch, Adora, had done to her. "In my defense, she tried to kill me too." she added, though her voice was monotone and lacked any emotion.

I found myself hating Adora. Killing your family… it was unforgivable to me. I might have been biased because of what my mom had done to me, but you didn't kill your family, you didn't spill your own blood. No matter how close you were, what they had done to you, you didn't kill your family. And Adora had killed half of her family.

Though, Bella had killed her family too. You could argue that it was in revenge and in self-defense, but she still killed her family. I didn't say anything about it too. I could already tell that Bella hated herself enough for it.

"What happened next?" I asked after a few silent minutes.

"Esther died. The originals- Niklaus, Rebekah, Kol, Finn, Elijah, and their father, Mikael- left the village. Gemma and Kol 'broke up' I guess you could say. She died regretting never leaving the village with him. I was pregnant with Elijah's sons when he left the village, though neither of us knew it. He returned five years later, met his sons, and then we planned to leave the village and live happily ever after. My arse of a husband found out, killed me, and then Elijah found out and killed him. That ring," Bella nodded at the ring on my finger, "Turned me into a vampire. And then Elijah and I really did live happily ever after." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"What a bittersweet ending," I muttered after a few moments.

She nodded. "I warned you."

"What happened to your sons? My ancestors?" I asked curiously.

"They died." Bella sighed, looking sad again. "Elijah and I offered to change them, but they didn't want to. I respected their decision, and they lived out their natural lives." She sighed again.

"You miss them," I murmured.

Bella smiled sadly at me. "A mother never stops missing her children when they die."

I felt so bad for Bella at that moment. So many bad things happened to her. A thousand years' worth of shit had happened to her. She lost her family, her sons. Who the hell knew what happened to Elijah at this point. I barely knew Bella, but she was my family- I guess- and I felt sorry for her.

We stood in silence as I looked at the five coffins in the cave we were in. I frowned as I started to realize something. I had had seven nightmare visions of seven deaths. There were seven original fairies who had all died. I had had a feeling of family about those visions, and, like Bella had pointed out, the original fairies were my family.

My nightmare visions had been about the original fairies.

I sighed. God, I could be so slow sometimes.

"What?"

I looked up, startled, at Bella. "What?" I asked dumbly.

"You look like you've just had a revelation of some sort," she told me.

I shook my head and crossed my arms over my head. "No, I mean, yeah, I did. But it's no big deal," I told her.

Bella shrugged. "Whatever you say."

I looked back down at the nearest stone coffin. "So, are your dead siblings really in the coffins around us? They're all rotted and skeleton-y? Actually, wouldn't they be dust by now?"

Bella rolled her eyes at my morbid curiosity. "Yes, my siblings really are in the coffins. I moved them here about eight hundred years ago. I made this cave the family tomb." She nodded up at the old words engraved in the wall. "'The Erikson family,'" she read.

My nose wrinkled. "Well, that's kind of creepy. You moved skeletons into a tomb."

Bella laughed. "Well, they weren't skeletons, Hailey."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that defies nature, Bella."

"Fairies are the protectors of nature," she told me. "So, in turn, nature protects us. When a person who has fairy blood in their veins dies, their body is preserved. They don't rot. So, for example, Adrian," she gestured to the coffin next to me, "Died over a thousand years ago. Yet, if I were to open that coffin now, his body would look exactly the way it did when he first died."

My nose wrinkled and I moved away from Adrian's corpse. "That's super creepy," I muttered.

Bella smiled slightly. "I suppose it is, in a way."

I studied the dimly lit room again, before I remembered something Bella had said earlier. "Wait, you said before that there was more to Klaus' story. What did you mean by that?"

Bella looked at me, frowning slightly. "I meant that Klaus isn't just a vampire," she said, and I noticed how bitter and resentful she sounded when she said Klaus' name.

I raised an eyebrow. "What else is he?"

"He's a hybrid, like us."

My eyes widened. Another hybrid, another mixed species. But I knew that Klaus wasn't like me and Bella, he was a different kind of hybrid. "He's half-vampire and half…" I trailed off, waiting for her to finish my sentence.

'Werewolf," Bella said. "Klaus is half-vampire and half-werewolf."

Vampire and fairy hybrid, fairy and witch hybrid, and now a vampire and werewolf hybrid. There were so many different kinds of hybrids.

"Esther had been unfaithful to her husband, Mikael," Bella explained. "She had an affair with a werewolf, and nine months later, Niklaus was born. But, when Klaus became a vampire and killed for the first time, his werewolf curse had been triggered. Esther knew how powerful he'd be, so she made his werewolf side dormant. And then Niklaus killed her."

It sounded like Maggie and Jace to me, except Jace didn't kill Maggie. I wouldn't blame him if he did. "For centuries, Klaus had been obsessed with breaking his curse. He never succeeded, though. He got distracted by a new obsession, an obsession that involves you," Bella told me, sounding suddenly somber.

My eyebrows furrowed. "What obsession?" What could Klaus want with me? I didn't even know who he was, but he sounded like somebody not to be messed with.

"This room only holds four of my siblings, Hailey," she announced suddenly. "Adora is in the ground somewhere, and Halia is with Klaus."

My eyes widened. "Creepy. Why would he want her corpse?"

"Because he figured that he'd need it if he wanted to bring her back to life."

I stared at Bella, shocked. No, there was no way of bringing Halia back to life. There was only one way to bring somebody back to life- turn them into a vampire. Obviously, Halia couldn't be a vampire, so she was dead. Forever.

"A few centuries ago, witches told Klaus that there was a way to bring Halia back from the dead," Bella said slowly, so I'd understand every word. "A fairy could bring her back. It would have to be a special fairy, not any ordinary one. He or she would have to have an extra gift that most did not have."

"What is that?" I asked warily.

"That fairy would have to have a special connection to the dead," Bella told me. "In other words, they'd have to be able to see ghosts."

I was silent as I processed that information. Bella watched me, frowning with her eyebrows furrowed. When I didn't say anything, she said it for me.

"You, Hailey," she practically whispered. "You're the way to bring Halia back from the dead."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**thank you to: JellyBear7, Kelsey, colleenrawr, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	18. always a catch

**Chapter eighteen**

**Always a catch**

*Hailey*

"H-how is that possible?" I stared wide-eyed at Bella. She looked understandingly back at me. "What's dead is supposed to stay dead."

"If that was true, Hailey," Bella said, "You would be dead, I would be dead, and vampires would be nothing more than stories. If what was dead stayed dead, we would not be having this conversation."

"Okay, yeah, what's dead doesn't_always_stay dead, but that's the exception. Vampirism is the exception! It's the only exception! Fairies who have been dead for a thousand years stay dead. That's the rule!" I exclaimed, my eyes dangerously wild.

I had a hard time believing it. The dead could come back to life._I_could bring the dead back to life.

Klaus was going to try to kidnap me so that I'd bring Halia back to life. Sweet, innocent, naïve Halia, murdered by her own sister. I frowned as I thought about it. If I could bring her back to life, why shouldn't I? She was a fairy, just like me. We were family. When I watched her die in my visions- when I felt her die in my visions- I felt like it was my sister dying. I cared. I could bring her back from the dead.

But, there was a catch. I knew there was. There was always a catch.

"There's more to my being able to bring back the dead, isn't there, Bella?" I said slowly, casually, well, almost. Then I frowned when I realized something. "You came here to stop Klaus from getting me- to stop me from bringing Halia back. Why would you do that? You love her, I know you do." I pursed my lips before asking a question that had been on my mind for a while. "Where's Elijah, Bella? Why isn't he with you?" my eyebrows furrowed and I frowned at the original fairy. "He's dead, isn't he?"

"He's not dead!"

I was startled by Bella's outburst, by the fierce look in her eyes, by the insistence, almost pleading, when she said that Elijah wasn't dead. Her eyes lost their fierceness not even a second later, and she dropped her gaze sheepishly.

"I apologize," she murmured. "I just- if I keep hearing it, I'll start believing it. And I can't believe it. I don't know what I'll do if I believe it."

Her eyes were sad, and Bella actually looked a little bit lost without Elijah. It would have been pathetic, but Bella and Elijah had been together for a thousand years._A thousand years._I'd be lost too, if I had been with Damon that long, and then he was suddenly gone. Hell, I'd be a little lost if he was gone now.

Bella sighed and ran a hand over her face. She suddenly looked older, her thousand years of life experience showing. "Elijah and I, up until the end of the 15th century, we stayed with Klaus, went where he went. Rebekah went with us, too. She and Klaus were very close, and she and Halia were best friends. Kol didn't, though. You see, about a century after vampires were created, Klaus daggered Finn. And Kol was scared that he'd be next, so he left."

"Daggered?" I asked, confused.

"Original vampires cannot be killed, but they can be daggered. There are daggers that witches made, and if you dip them in the ash of the great white oak- the only thing that can truly kill the originals- and shove it into an original's heart, it "kills" them. But as soon as you take the dagger out, the original comes back to life," she explained.

"Why did Klaus dagger Finn?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. He was just another guy who killed his family. I already didn't like him.

"I'm not sure. He told us that he did it because Finn was going to kill himself anyway. He hated what we were, loathed himself for it. This way, he'd be dead and unable to hurt himself, but he wouldn't be_dead."_Bella shook her head. "I'm still not sure what has prompted Klaus to do the things he has."

"Why did you and Elijah leave Klaus?" I asked to get us back on track.

"Because Elijah finally started to realize that his brother had changed. He wasn't the same Klaus he grew up with, the same Klaus he loved. I had realized that years earlier, centuries even. I stayed, though. I stayed for Elijah and I stayed because Klaus had been my friend. We both lost Halia, and that was what bound us together, that loss. But once Elijah and I were forced to realize the truth, we left. Klaus wasn't very happy, to say the least.

"And then, one by one, the rest of Elijah's family dropped dead. Klaus daggered Kol in the early 1900's, and Rebekah about a decade later. We- Elijah and I- thought Klaus had dropped their bodies in the ocean and that they were gone forever. So, then Elijah vowed to get revenge on Klaus. He planned to kill him.

"Two years ago, Elijah and I were in Chicago. He was meeting with some witches there. Klaus found us there, and he told me about his plan to get Halia back. Klaus had been meeting with his own witches. He wanted me to do it myself. He didn't yet know that the fairy had to be able to see ghosts- something I couldn't do. So, when I told him I couldn't do it, he got angry. Klaus has werewolf rage, and, as a vampire, his emotions were heightened. So, to get back at me, he daggered… he… he daggered Elijah." Bella's eyes closed, her voice was empty and weak. I was right. She was lost without him. But, I was even more confused.

"If you had brought me to Klaus, he would've given you Elijah back," I said.

Bella looked up at me, looking startled.

"Yes, I suppose he would have," she said, eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Why didn't you, then?" I asked her.

"Why didn't I what?"

"Turn me over to Klaus! You could've gotten Elijah and Halia back, but you didn't. Why?" She confused me. Was she waiting for the right moment to knock me out and drag me to wherever her brother-in-law was?

Bella sighed again.

"There is only one thing I won't do for family, Hailey," she told me quietly. "And that's betraying family."

I nodded slowly, understanding her in a strange way. Because, even though I've known her for only a few hours, we were family. And I was slowly learning how important family was. I did need family, no matter how much I wanted to deny it.

"Bringing back Halia isn't as easy as it seems, isn't it?" I asked in a low voice.

Bella shook her head. "No, it's not."

"Does it involve human sacrifice?" I asked, only half-joking.

"In a way," Bella said without any humor. "Klaus had found a few fairies, over the years, who were capable of seeing the dead. And he had gotten them to help him- by bribery, threatening, or force-but, obviously, my sister is still dead. All the fairies failed, Hailey. And they all lost their lives, one way or another.

"It's not an easy thing, bringing back the dead. It takes a lot of power-_a lot_of power. Plus, the side effects… who knows? Nobody has ever brought the dead back to life, ever. And the longer the dead stay dead, the harder it is to bring them back. The dead may not live permanently, they could go feral, start terrorizing towns and cities, like -what's the term? - Zombies. The dead could become zombies. And the fairy in question could lose his or her powers, or worse, die. It takes a lot of power, Hailey. And most fairies do not have enough power to do it. So, if you did try to bring Halia back, the odds aren't in your favor for succeeding. Most likely, you'll die before you'd manage to shove my sister's soul back into her body."

"How would I even bring her back?" I asked, my voice quiet. Bella shrugged.

"I have no idea."

I sighed. So bringing Halia back wasn't an option.

Bella and I stood in silence. She could have easily turned me over and gotten Elijah back. But, she didn't. Because Bella was a moral person. She was honorable and trustworthy and didn't believe in lying or duplicity or betrayal. And even if I did have trust issues, it would be an insult not to trust her at this point. I practically had to.

"I want to help you get Elijah back." I blurted out suddenly. Bella's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why would you want to?" she asked. I bit my lip.

"You saved Damon's life," I told her. Bella just looked even more confused.

"How?" she asked.

"Those vamps who attacked us tonight, they would've killed him if you hadn't showed up. So, you saved his life." I explained. Though that was true, it wasn't why I wanted to get Elijah back for Bella. I wanted to do it because we were family. I didn't want her to know that, though.

Bella smiled slightly, and I know that she saw right through my flimsy reason. Still, she went along with it.

"Thank you, Hailey," she told me honestly. I shrugged.

"Whatever." I looked around the tomb and frowned. "Can we get out of here? It's creepy and depressing, being in a room full of dead fairies." She laughed slightly.

"Let's go."

I walked past Bella, but I still faintly heard her say goodbye to her siblings. I felt bad for her. I really did. Bella joined me and we walked through the silent woods together. It was weird, how quickly I was getting used to looking like her. I was almost forgetting about it.

"Wait, where did you bury Adora?" I asked suddenly, the question falling from my lips without any thought.

Bella didn't seem bothered by it, though.

"Where our house once stood. It seemed fitting, since she was the one who burned it down," she said darkly.

Suddenly, my phone started to ring. I expected it to be Damon, since it was about three in the morning and I wasn't in bed next to him, where I should have been. But the caller I.D read somebody different. Jace.

I frowned as I answered it. What could my brother want at three in the morning? "Jace? What's up?"

"_You'll never believe what I have in my kitchen right now,"_he said without any greeting. His voice was rough, strange, twisted excitement making the words come out in a rush.

"Two half-naked Puerto Rican girls?" I asked warily. I didn't want to know about my brother's exploits with poor, unsuspecting women. Bella raised an eyebrow at me and I just shrugged.

"_God, I wish,"_he said.

"Well, what do you have then?" I asked, secretly wondering if he was drunk.

"_Two charred vampires, extra crispy."_

_**~EL~**_

**A/N:**thank you to: JellyBear7, AudreyDarke96, Kara, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	19. playing with fire

**Chapter nineteen**

**Playing with fire**

*Hailey*

"So, just so you know, my brother's a little weird."

Bella smiled slightly in the passenger seat as I drove towards Casper Heights, doing seventy in a forty zone. I was driving Bella's car since Jace still had mine.

"I think everyone thinks their brothers are weird, Hailey," she told me. "I knew I found all of mine strange."

"No, I mean he really is weird, like weird compared to us," I tried to explain.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Explain," she all but demanded.

I sighed slightly. "Jace is my half-brother- my dad had an affair a few years before I was born with his mom. But my dad is your great-great-great times infinity grandson," I told her.

Bella just looked even more confused. "So that would make your father a carrier, yes?"

"Yeah, he was one, before he died," I said a little awkwardly. Bella's eyes flooded with sympathy, but I just plowed on. "Which would make Jace a carrier, right?"

"Right," she agreed, clearly not seeing what was so weird about the situation.

"Wrong."

Bella looked up at me, eyebrows raised. "Wrong?" she repeated, even more confused.

"Wrong," I agreed.

"I really don't understand what you mean, Hailey-" she cut herself off and looked up at me. "Your brother's a fairy?" she asked disbelievingly.

I nodded. "And it gets weirder, Bells," I told her.

Bella shook her head slightly. "Please don't call me that."

I smirked at her. "Whatever you say, Bells," I told her casually. She just rolled her eyes.

"How does your brother's situation get any weirder than him being a fairy yet being a part of my line?" she asked to get the conversation back on track.

"He doesn't have our powers," I told her. "He isn't telekinetic and he doesn't have visions."

Her eyebrows furrowed even more. "Then what are his powers?" she asked.

"He's a fire fairy."

Bella's eyes widened and she looked back towards the road, bathed in the light of my headlights. It was four in the morning and I was still only in my pajamas. I didn't stop at my house to change, I just got in my car and drove as fast as possible, in case anymore vampires came to attack Jace.

"Garrett," she muttered to herself.

I raised my eyebrows. "Who's he? One of the original fairies, right?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, he was my youngest brother and the original 'fire fairy' as you put it." She furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips. "There's no way Jace's mother was a part of my brother's line, is there? Maybe it is just a coincidence that he happens to be a part of two fairy lines."

I shook my head. "No, I don't think that's possible," I said, thinking about Maggie.

"Why?" Bella asked.

"Because his mother's a witch. And not, like, a complete bitch- which she is- but as in spell books and pointy hats and broomsticks," I said.

Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the new information. "Ah," she said finally, after a few minutes of silence.

"Ah?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That explains it," she said, but didn't explain any further.

I sighed, annoyed. "God, why are you so vague? Is it because you're so old? Is your ability to explain properly slowly leaving you?" I asked agitatedly.

Bella glared at me. "Fortunately for you, my patience hasn't. Because if it had, there is good chance I would have torn some limb from your body hours ago, family or not," she retorted.

I shrugged. "Touché," I said simply.

Bella took a deep breath. "Originally, fairies wouldn't of had looked like the original fairy of their line. They wouldn't have had their same powers either, I'm assuming. But Esther- the mother of the originals and the same witch who created vampires- cast a spell on me and my family a few days before she created vampires. It bound our powers, made us not so powerful, and made our descendants look exactly like us and have our same powers," she started to explain.

"I already know this," I said.

Bella ignored this. "The spell is in every single fairy and carrier on this planet, including us. The only exception is Jace. You see, the spell is not in him, it does not bind the fairy blood in him. That's why he's a fairy even though he is a part of my line. That's why he shares my brother's gift instead of mine. The spell is not in him."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?"

"Because he's half-witch," she said simply.

I sighed agitatedly. "There you go being vague again."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Even though the witch part of your brother is dormant, magic still runs through his veins. And that magic counteracts the spell in him, which is why he is the way he is. He is the only fairy who has had this happen to them, because witches tend to shy away from fairies- they hate us for reasons I'll never quite comprehend. But my guess is that his mother had no idea your father was a carrier when she met him."

"I knew that had something to do with it," I muttered to myself as I pulled into Jace's apartment building's parking lot. After parking, I got out of my car and Bella followed me.

I walked briskly to my brother's apartment, Bella at my heels. As soon as I knocked on the door, Jace answered. His hair was messy, he wore a wrinkled shirt and sweat pants, looked slightly drunk, his skin was flushed and eyes were full of excitement.

"You really didn't have to come-" he started to say to me, when he looked behind me at Bella. He cut himself off and his eyes went wide. "Holy shit!"

I rolled my eyes. I was ninety percent sure he was drunk. "Relax, Jace," I told him.

"Please tell me I just drank something funny and are seeing double," he said, not taking his eyes off of Bella.

"Now you know that isn't true, big brother," I said, turning back to look at Bella. "This is my brother, Jace Andrews," I said to her. "Jace, this is Bella Erikson. As in the original fairy, and the originator of our line."

His green eyes were still wide as soccer balls. "You look exactly alike," he muttered.

I rolled my eyes again. "He's slow," I told Bella. She smiled slightly.

I turned back to my brother. "Moving on to bigger things, Jace, where are the bodies?" I asked him.

Eyes still wide, he gestured towards the kitchen. I walked into the apartment and towards the kitchen. Bella cleared her throat and I looked back at her. "It appears I'm stuck," she said.

I looked up at Jace, who shifted uncomfortably. "Do you trust her?" he asked me quietly.

I paused and looked back at my ancestor. I didn't trust many people. Hell, I only trusted myself half the time. "Yes," I said honestly. "I do."

Jace still didn't make any moves to invite Bella in. I sighed. "Don't you feel anything, Jace?" I asked him. "A connection between you two?"

His eyebrows furrowed and he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do," he said. "It's the same one-"

"-You felt with me," I finished. "It means we're family. It means you, me, Bella, we're family. It also means you can trust her."

Jace sighed slightly, but he knew the truth to my words. "You can come in, Bella," he told her. Bella stepped in, and then followed me to the kitchen.

"I'm still confused," Jace said as I stepped into his kitchen. "I thought Bella was dead- you told me all the originals were dead."

"And I thought they were," I answered. "I have a lot to catch you up on."

Two bodies were in my brother's kitchen, both charred beyond recognition. I looked up at him. "How did they even get in here?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "I was drunk and I thought they were delivering me pizza and beer. Then they tried to bite me and kill me and all that fun stuff, so I set them on fire." He shrugged again, as if this was a perfectly normal thing that happened to him.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Pyro."

"What?" he said defensively. "Burning things is fun. Almost as fun as blowing them up."

"God, you are weird," I muttered.

"Look who's talking," Jace retorted.

"If you two are done," Bella said, cutting off our bickering. "These are definitely Klaus' men," she told me.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Why would Klaus send men to attack my brother? I didn't even know I had a brother a few weeks ago."

She shrugged. "Klaus does his research."

"Wait a second," Jace interrupted. "Who's this Klaus guy?"

"I told you I had a lot to catch you up on," I told him.

"He probably found out that the first men failed to get you, so he sent some more to get your brother. He most likely planned to use him as bait to lure you in," Bella explained. "He didn't expect him to be a fairy."

I smirked slightly. "What can I say? We Ellis's are badass." My smirked wiped away when an unfamiliar scent hit the air.

I smelled the vampires before I heard them. Bella and I both looked at the door at the same time. Three vampires appeared, fangs extended, and I braced myself for their attack.

It never came.

Faster than light, Bella flashed around the room. She ripped out one heart, staked another vampire with the leg of a chair, and then pinned the last remaining vampire to a wall by his neck. I couldn't helped but to be impressed by her. She was a badass, just not a very obvious one.

"So, Niklaus sent you," she said casually to the vampire as she pushed her bangs out of her face.

"Bella," the vampire said, breathing heavily. "He didn't think you'd be a problem. Klaus thought you'd be too busy mourning the loss of your precious Elijah."

"I didn't lose Elijah," she said quietly, her eyes hardening. "I have every intention of getting him back."

"You could get him back quicker if you handed over the girl," he said, his eyes training on me.

"I know," she replied simply. "But I have no intention of doing so."

He rolled his eyes and Bella's grip on his throat tightened. "I'm going to let you live," she told him in a low, clear voice. "Only to play messenger."

His eyes narrowed. "How gracious of you," he said sarcastically.

"Tell Niklaus that I am not mourning Elijah like some widow," she said, ignoring him. "Tell him that he should be very careful of me right now."

"Is that all?" he asked dryly.

"Oh, and tell him to stay the hell away from my family," Bella said, tone dark. She didn't raise her voice once, didn't flash her fangs once, but she was more menacing than any vampire I had ever met.

Bella let the vampire go, and he flashed from the room. She took a deep breath and looked at the bodies in the room. "Well, we should probably get this cleaned up while the humans are still sleeping," she said finally.

I realized, at that moment, that I would be safe from Klaus as long as Bella was alive and kicking.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **I am so, so sorry for the lack of update. I blame school, finals, life- the usual. I apologize with badass Bella.

Thank you to: CassieSalvatore, AudreyDarke96, MissCaityGrace, JellyBear7, and colleenrawr, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	20. blood

**Chapter twenty**

**Blood**

*Hailey*

"Hailey, I don't need you to babysit me!"

"I'm not babysitting you, Jace. I'm keeping you alive! Got a problem with that?" I snapped back, looking from the road to my brother and back again.

"Maybe I do!" he shot back.

I sighed and shook my head, speeding up. It was already dawn. The sky was lightening, and I was ready to go to sleep. Bella was behind us, she wanted to make sure Jace and I got back to the boarding house safe and sound.

Jace wasn't happy with me because I was forcing him to stay with Damon, Stefan, and me until this whole Klaus thing was over. I didn't want him getting murdered in the middle of the night by vampires just because he was my half-brother.

"Well, excuse me for giving a shit if you live or not," I muttered. I wondered if I was as stubborn as my brother. If I was, I could understand why Damon called me a pain in the ass. Jace was a big pain in mine at that moment.

"I can take care of myself, Hailey," he insisted. "I don't need my little sister to protect me."

"Yeah, you do," I corrected him bluntly. "Because your little sister is a badass hybrid. I'm half-vampire, Jace. I'm more capable of protecting you than you are."

Jace just rolled his eyes, still annoyed. "I think you forgot that I'm a fire fairy, Hailey," he said.

"I haven't," I assured him. "But- but just because you're a fairy, that doesn't make you invincible. You're still human. You're still mortal. Vampires can still kill you with a flick of their wrists. And I don't want you to die."

I was finally realizing how Damon felt when I was still human. I didn't realize how mortal I really was, how easy I was to break. Damon did, though, like I realized with Jace. But Jace, just like Human Hailey, was too stubborn and arrogant to realize just how human they really were. And I'd be damned if I just stood by and let Jace get himself killed.

Jace looked at me funny, eyes suddenly dark and serious as he stiffed a yawn. "You don't want me to die?" he repeated.

I squirmed uncomfortably. Feelings still weren't my strong suit, and I knew they weren't Jace's either. "I've lost enough people to last me all of eternity. I'd rather not add you to that list," I muttered.

I noticed something change in Jace's green eyes, before he nodded and looked away. "Fine," he said. "I'll stay with you."

I nodded too. "Good, because you really didn't have a choice in the matter."

His jaw tightened but he didn't say anything. Jace was doing this for me, I realized. Despite every nerve in his body screaming at him not to hide from a couple of vampires, he was willing to, just because his little sister all but asked him to. And I appreciated it.

The rest of the drive to the boarding house was in silence. The sun was rising by the time I pulled to a stop, Bella parking behind me. Jace silently got out of the car, grabbed the bag I had packed for him, and grabbed a sleeping Monster from the backseat. The cat growled and scratched my brother on his arm.

Jace cursed as blood dripped from the slightly deep scratch on his forearm. The smell hit the air and I stiffened. I felt my fangs press into my bottom lip and I closed my eyes. Fairy blood did smell good, the best blood I had ever smelled. How Damon ever managed to be in the same room with me when I was bleeding – which was all too often- was beyond me.

As Jace pressed his shirt against his wound, he looked at me. "Oh, shit! Your face-" he looked down at his bloody shirt sleeve. "You're thirsty, right? Is it my blood?"

I nodded, feeling the edges of my fangs dig into my lip. God, I wanted nothing more than to tear into his throat at that moment. It was only because he was my brother that I wasn't. The longer Jace stayed there, though, the more likely I was to lose control, brother or not.

"Fairy blood is very decadent to vampires." Bella was at my side, as a mother bird would be at her baby's, if that baby bird was in trouble like I was. She looked up at my brother, fresh blood staining his wrinkled shirt. She was unaffected by his blood, but Bella had a thousand years of self-control on her side, where I didn't even have a full year of controlling myself.

"Here, drink my blood," Bella said, biting into her wrist and offering it to my brother. "It will heal you."

Jace's nose wrinkled. "It's just a scratch, Bella," he said.

But then two pairs of bright green eyes, identical to mine, flickered to me and back again. Scratch or not, I couldn't handle the smell of my brother's blood much longer. They both knew that.

Despite the slightly disgusted look on my brother's face, he drank Bella's blood, healing his wound. But I could still smell Jace's blood, what was on his shirt, and my fangs didn't recede into my gums. Bella wiped her wrist on her dress, and then stood in front of me, blocking Jace from me in case I decided to lunge at my brother.

"Go burn your shirt," she told him, "While Hailey gets herself together."

Jace pursed his lips but walked away. I took deep breaths and eventually my face went back to normal. My thirst was even more noticeable now, though. All I wanted at that moment was to get a glass of blood, take a shower, and then sleep for twelve hours.

When I got out of the car, Bella was leaning against the hood, staring at the rising sun with thoughtful eyes. "I think vampires with daylight rings, such as yourself, take the sun for granted. They don't realize what a privilege they have, walking in the sun, feeling it's warmth. For the first few centuries of my life, I was among those hiding from the sun during the day. It really is, not only an inconvenience, but a sadness. Not being able to walk in the sun, it reminds vampires just how human they're not anymore." Sadness flickered in Bella's eyes. I was reminded then that, at certain points, Bella had a good human life, even a great life. She had been genuinely happy. And right now, she had nothing. Not her children, not her siblings or parents, not love of her life. She just had her doppelganger and a fire happy hybrid. "Have you ever been forced to stay inside because you would burn to death if the sun's rays were to hit you?" she asked me randomly.

I nodded. "The first few weeks I was a vampire, I didn't have my ring yet," I said, walking up to her side. "But it didn't really affect me. I couldn't go out in public yet, anyway. I would've eaten people without a single thought."

Bella nodded, more to herself than to me, then the thoughtful look left her eyes and she straightened. "Are you alright?" she asked, and I nodded.

"By chance, you don't happen to have a human's name on the deed to this house, do you?" she asked and I shook my head.

"Get one," Bella said bluntly. "It's safer. You won't be getting any attacks by unwanted vampires that way."

"Fine, I can get Elena to," I said. Then I raised an eyebrow at her. "Where are you going?" I asked.

Bella shrugged. "There's an abandoned house not too far from here that will suit my needs. I'm not leaving town until I'm sure that Klaus is no threat to you or your loved ones."

"How will you be sure of that?" I asked her, eyebrows furrowed slightly.

She shrugged again. "I'm not sure yet."

I paused and bit my lip. "You know, I meant what I said, about helping you get Elijah back." I was referring to the promise I made to her in the tomb of her siblings.

"I know you did," she said simply. "You do not seem like the kind to say things they don't mean."

I nodded. "For the most part, I try not to lie if I don't have to. It wastes time and energy that I don't necessarily have."

Bella smiled slightly at me. "There's something likeable about you Hailey. There really is."

I smirked at her. "You're honestly the first person to tell me so."

Bella's smile widened, before she stood up and began inching towards her car. "You should go inside, Hailey. Get some sleep. You look like you could use some. I'll be in touch."

Bella turned around and began walking towards her car, when I stopped her. "Wait!" I exclaimed, and she stopped.

"How did you even find out about me?" I asked her suddenly, voicing a question I had forgotten to ask, although I thought I already knew the answer to it. "How did Klaus find out about me."

Bella crossed her arms over her chest. "Ever since Klaus took Elijah from me, I've had eyes and ears on him, watching his every move. And then, a few days ago, I found out that through one of my sources that an old acquaintance visited Klaus with news about my line."

"Sage," I said instantly. "Sage visited Klaus and told him about me. But how do the two of you know her?"

Bella smiled almost ruefully. "Sage was in love with Klaus' brother Finn back in the day. He turned her- the only vampire Finn ever turned, for he hated what we were- but Klaus daggered Finn in the 12th century. I bet Sage was planning to do what I never could- trade you for the love of her existence."

"Do you think Klaus gave her Finn?" I asked curiously. So Finn was the man Sage loved. I still hated the little hoe bag.

Bella shook her head. "No, Klaus would be very hesitant to let one of his siblings go, especially since he's not naïve enough to believe they're all happy with him. I guess that he'd want to make sure he has you before he'd ever think about giving Sage what she wants."

"Good," I said, a satisfied smirk on my lips.

Bella just shook her head at me and opened the car door. "Take care of yourself, Hailey."

I nodded. "You too, Bella."

Bella drove off as I headed towards the front door. Jace was there when I walked up the steps. He was shirtless, going through his backpack for another shirt. Monster was on the ground, nothing more than a fat fur ball.

My nose wrinkled. "Put a shirt on, Hollister ad," I told him. Jace rolled his eyes before pulling on a plain white t-shirt.

"I don't have to sleep on the couch, do I?" Jace asked as I unlocked the front door with my key.

I shook my head. "This place has six guest bedrooms. You can take your pick." I pushed the door open.

Jace let out a low whistle as he stepped into the boarding house. "Woah, I'm pretty sure you can fit about twenty of my apartment in here," he said, picking up Monster.

"Make sure your cat doesn't try to make my Ellie a meal, alright? That's all I ask," I said, shutting the door behind me.

"There you are, Hailey! I've spent the last hour looking for you-" Damon stormed into the room, glaring at me. He cut himself off when he saw Jace. He rolled his eyes at my brother. "Oh, he's here. Great."

Jace narrowed his eyes at Damon, and opened his mouth to retort, when I cut him off. "Sorry, Damon. I don't even have my phone on me. I had another sleep walking vision, and, well, saying it's been a night full of revelations would be an understatement."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Well, don't let me stop you from explaining yourself," he said dryly.

I sighed and rand hand through my hair. "Can I explain after I take a shower and drink enough blood to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool?" I asked.

Damon sighed. "Can you at least explain why your ass hat of a brother is here?" he asked.

I glared at Damon, Jace stiffening next to me. "Good job keeping an eye on my little sister, dick. She's been gone since the middle of the night and you just realized an hour ago?" he retorted.

I turned to glare at Jace, all the while positioning myself between him and Damon. "Shut. Up," I deadpanned.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just snap your neck right now-" Damon said through gritted teeth, stalking slowly towards Jace.

I whirled around to face him. "I can give you a few," I said. "One, he's my brother. Two, you'll never have sex ever again if you so much as lay a finger on him. Three, Jace has an ancient vampire-fairy guardian angel on his shoulder, and I won't stop her from kicking your ass if you kill him."

Damon sighed, knowing that he couldn't kill Jace. I turned to face my brother. "Go upstairs before you get yourself killed," I snapped, angry with both of the men in my life.

Jace glared daggers at Damon before picking up his bag and cat and making his way up the stairs. I sighed and ran a hand over my face while making my way to the kitchen. I needed blood and I needed blood bad.

"I miss the days when you hated your brother," Damon muttered, following me. I poured a glass of blood, B negative- my favorite, and zapped it in the microwave.

"Can you please lay off on starting things with him, Damon? For me?" I asked, leaning against the counter. I really was tired, not so much physically, just mentally.

Damon frowned and walked over to me. "What's wrong?" he asked and I sighed again.

"You wouldn't believe the messes I get myself into."

_**~LMF~**_

**A/N: **Sorry for the lack of update, guys. I promise I'm working on it. I had a pretty nasty cold that I'm just getting over. I was pretty out of it the past couple of days and in no condition to write.

A big thanks to: Kelsey, AudreyDarke96, MissCaityGrace, sam meyers, Lady Syndra, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	21. distracted

**Chapter twenty one**

**Distracted**

*Hailey*

"So, to sum it all up, Klaus the original vampire-slash-hybrid wants to kidnap you to bring his lover Halia the original fairy back to life, but if you do that, you'll die?" Damon said, and I nodded.

"Yeah, basically," I agreed towel drying my wet hair as I sat down on my bed. Damon paced in front of me.

"And Bella, the original fairy-slash-vampire-slash-Halia's-sister who's lover is Elijah the original-slash-Klaus'-brother, wants to help protect you from Klaus, because you two are family, and Klaus daggered Elijah two years ago, right?" he continued.

I nodded. "Yep, you're right."

"Do you trust her?" he asked me, suddenly very serious.

I smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, I do. I honestly can say that I trust Bella more than I trusted my mother, and she was already more family to me than Holly ever was. I trust her, and I know that Klaus will never get me as long as Bella's focused. She's actually pretty badass, you know."

I tossed my towel on the ground and got into bed. Even though it was six AM, I was going to sleep. I needed to be a hundred percent if some freaky ancient hybrid wanted to use me as his ghost whisperer.

I closed my eyes and snuggled into my pillow as I felt Damon get into bed next to me. I moved closer to him and rested my head on his chest. "I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered, his hand brushing through my hair. "You know that."

"It's not me I'm worried about, Damon," I whispered back.

"What do you mean?" He asked, obviously confused.

I sighed and opened my eyes before sitting up. "Bella told me how much he loved Halia. So, so much. Honestly, everything he's done in the past thousand years has been for her. It's seriously twisted, but sad. He's dead set on getting her back, and if he thinks I can do that, he'll stop at nothing to get me. Bella's working on a long term solution, but I'll always have to worry, not about me, but about people I care about."

Damon frowned, understanding what I hadn't even said yet. "The only way he'd get you to bring Halia back were if he had somebody you cared about, and was using them as leverage. That's why they went after Jace. And that's why you're not worried about yourself."

I nodded. "He'd never take me alive," I mumbled, laying back down.

"And that's why I'm worried about you enough for the both of us," Damon muttered.

I smiled slightly. "Yeah, you worry about me, and I'll worry about the people I love."

"You are the people I love, Hailey," he murmured.

I smiled again, before falling into a dreamless sleep.

_**~EL~**_

"So, we have to be careful, but we can still go out to the bar?"

I nodded as I lead Jace into the Mystic Grill. "Yeah, basically. Bella will call me if her eyes and ears tell her that Klaus is moving to take me," I told him, walking straight to the bar. "Meanwhile, you and I can go get drunk with my friends."

"Getting wasted with teenagers- every legal drinker's dream," Jace muttered sarcastically, and I hit him. "Ow!" he complained.

"Yeah, well that's what you get when your teenager sister's half-vamp. We hit harder," I said as I turned to the bartender.

"A glass of bourbon," I said, before looking to Jace. "What do you want?"

"A beer," he said to the bartender, and my nose wrinkled.

"Beer is so gross," I said, and Jace raised an eyebrow.

"Don't most high school kids drink the cheap stuff?" he asked as we got our drinks.

"You forgot that we come from an old, rich family, and I loved wasting money to piss of my mom," I said with a smirk as I spotted Elena in the crowd of people.

"Come on," I said, walking towards her. "I want you to meet my best friend, Elena."

_**~EL~**_

Bella was stretched out across a couch, one arm over her face, the other one clutching a bottle of wine that was older than Mystic Falls. She wasn't drunk, just a little buzzed. She always missed Elijah, every day she spent without him. It was the curse of spending every day with someone for a million days, and then that person suddenly disappearing one day. But it was certain moments when something reminded her especially of him, that Elijah's absence hit her hard, right in the stomach. And it started to hurt her, so she started to drink, to feel better.

She bet Gemma's spirit was proud of her.

Bella stared up at the ceiling. She had nothing to do except to wallow in self-pity. There was no word of Klaus, and Hailey didn't need to be protected. So all Bella had to do was miss Elijah. And when she started to really miss Elijah, she started to miss her parents. And then Adrian. Joseph. Garrett. Gemma. Halia. And if she was drunk enough, she even missed Adora a little bit.

It really was a tiring business.

Bella went to take a sip from her wine bottle, only to find it empty. She sighed again and set it down on the battered coffee table. Elijah wouldn't be proud of her, the way she was acting at that moment. But she had a slight streak of self-destruction, when it came to missing somebody. He knew that, especially when it came to their children.

Bella flinched at the thought. Those weren't pretty memories. Blood. So much blood-

No. she wouldn't think about her dark period. It didn't matter, anyway. Elijah saved her from herself. He was always saving her, so much that she had become reliant on him.

And Bella couldn't even save him once. She could never save anyone. She would change that with Hailey, though. She'd save her descendant like she couldn't save her love or her sister. She would change things with Hailey.

A sudden knock at the door made Bella jump. She frowned as she slowly sat up. "Hailey?" she called. There was no answer.

Bella got up and made her way to the front door. Who would be at the abandoned house she had inhabited? Who would know she was here?

Bella opened the door, not knowing what to expect. What she found was not a person or any live creature for that matter.

It was coffin. An open coffin to be exact.

And it was empty.

_**~EL~**_

"Jace seems like a good guy," Elena said, as she and I watched Caroline and my brother flirt from a distance. I was frowning, nose wrinkled slightly.

"Yeah, I guess he is. Even man whores can be good, I suppose," I said. "I just wish he'd stay away from Caroline."

"Maybe he really likes her," Elena suggested. I just snorted.

"Yeah, and maybe the moon really is made out of cheese," I said with a roll of my eyes. "I don't care if they're freaking soul mates- I don't want my brother to sleep with one of my best friends."

Elena smiled, before frowning. "Damon told me about this whole Klaus thing," she said. "Is there anything I can do."

"Yeah, stay the hell out of it," I said bluntly, and Elena frowned at me. "I don't want you involved in any of this, Elena. It's safer for you that way."

"So I'm just supposed to sit on the sidelines as you possibly get yourself killed?" she said, slightly outraged.

"Yep," I said nonchalantly. "And remember- I want sunflowers and an open bar at my funeral."

"Hailey!" Elena said, pushing my shoulder. "That's not funny!"

"No, it really wasn't." I tore my gaze away from Jace and Caroline and looked at Elena. "I think I'm gonna head home. Do me a favor; if they start making out, throw something at them. And aim for Jace."

I said goodbye to my friends, told Jace to call me if he needed a ride home, but he was too busy having eye sex with Caroline to really pay attention to me. I drove home, going slow since my bourbon had already affected me.

"Damon?" I called as I walked into the boarding house. "You there?"

Silence answered me, and I frowned. Maybe he was passed out, but I didn't find any empty bottles in the living room. "Damon?" I called again, raising my voice. "Seriously, are you here? I saw your car parked outside…"

I walked upstairs heading towards our bedroom. A sudden hiss brought me to attention as a huge fur ball streaked down the hall, followed by a smaller one. Ellie stopped in front of me, back arched, hair standing up straight, a low growl making her more ferocious than she looked. To my surprise, Monster joined her.

I knew something wasn't right. My instincts told me to get the hell out of there, but I was worried about Damon. I couldn't leave him. I sidestepped the cats, and Monster clawed me, as if that was my punishment for not listening to him.

"Shit," I cursed, as blood dripped down my leg. "Damn cat." I started fast walking towards my bedroom. Once I got Damon, we'd get the hell out of there. Everything would be fine and dandy.

I pushed the bedroom door open to find Damon splayed out on the floor, as if his neck had been broken. I gasped, instantly blurring to him. "Damon!"

I wasn't even prepared when a man grabbed my neck and snapped it. Then I fell into a heap right on top of Damon.

_**~EL~**_

Bella frowned at the coffin. "What the hell?" he murmured, confused. Was this some strange idea of a practical joke? She would never understand this generation.

Bella shut the door and then returned to her couch. She was waiting for a call from one of her associates keeping tabs on Klaus. They were supposed to call only if Klaus was going to make an attack on Hailey.

Closing her eyes, Bella tried to relax. But she couldn't. Bella hadn't been completely relaxed since Klaus took Elijah from her. Just another sign that she was too co-dependent on him.

There was a sound, quieter than a pin dropping. It set Bella off though. Instantly, she stood up and launched herself at the intruder in the abandoned house. The intruder grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against the wall. Only he was gentle about it, as if he didn't want to hurt her.

Bella's

Eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at the intruder. Then her eyes widened and her mouth went slack. She was sure that she was imagining him. Or that she had fallen asleep and this was just some cruel dream.

But no. She blinked and he was still there. His grip on her shoulders was real. His gaze, soft and reassuring, yet just as confused as she was, was real too.

"Bella…"

His voice was real too. Her name falling from his lips was real. He was real. Everything about him was real. He wasn't a dream, a figment of her imagination.

"Elijah," she breathed so quietly she might have only thought it. She was afraid to look away from him, as if he would disappear as soon as he was out of her line of vision.

Bella was so distracted by Elijah, she didn't even hear her phone go off.

_**~EL~**_

I groaned as I came back to consciousness. I was on the hard floor, and my neck hurt. But I was only concerned for Damon. Was he alright? What had happened?

"Damon?" I called out into the dark silence, my voice hoarse.

"I wouldn't say your boyfriend is alright, but he's alive. And he'll stay that way as long as you're cooperative."

Light flooded the room, and I flinched as I shielded my eyes. I stood up on shaky legs. I had an idea what had happened. Bella was supposed to protect me, though. I had trusted her to do so.

"I have heard so much about you, Hailey," the male voice with the accent similar to Bella's said in a way you could tell he was smirking. "You really do look like Bella."

"That's what I hear," I croaked, turning around to face him.

He smirked at me, his blue eyes twinkling with a dangerous mirth, as if I amused him. Still, there was a seriousness to him, business-like, almost.

"How rude of me," he said suddenly. "I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Niklaus. But, please, call me Klaus."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **whew! What a lot to happen in one chapter. Elijah's back, and Klaus got Hailey (and Damon). Are the two related?

Thank you to: Kara, AudreyDarke96, Mia Salvatore, MissCaityGrace, JellyBear7, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	22. blast from the past

**Chapter twenty two**

**Blast from the past**

*Hailey*

"How did you get me?" I asked, backing away from Klaus. He just smiled, as if I was a pet that amused him.

"It wasn't that hard, I'm afraid," he said, taking slow steps towards me. "Bella is very intimidating when she tries to be, but she gets easily distracted."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What did you do to her?" I said accusingly.

Klaus placed a hand over his heart, as if I had offended him. "We barely know each other, Hailey, yet you already think the worst of me," he said.

"What can I say? I have a good sense of character," I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest.

Klaus smirked at me. It seemed as if the more time I spent with him, the more I amused him. My amusement value wouldn't save me from being sacrificed, if It meant getting Halia back, though. "Don't you worry about Bella, Hailey," he said. "She should be thanking me. I did her a favor."

I frowned at him. "What did you do?" I asked, still thinking the worst. _She can't die,_ I reminded myself. She was a hybrid, like me. And we were all but impossible to kill.

"I gave her the thing I took away," Klaus said vaguely, but I knew what he meant.

"You undaggered Elijah," I said, eyebrows furrowed. "You undaggered him, knowing that Bella would be completely distracted by his return, which meant that your men were free to grab me and Damon without getting their hearts ripped out by her."

"You're not stupid, Hailey," he said. "I will give you that."

"Yeah, well, that was either a really smart move or really dumb move on your part. Who's to say that Elijah won't take revenge on you for daggering him and your siblings?" I countered, crossing my arms over my chest.

Klaus shrugged. "It won't matter," he said. "I'll have Halia back by then. Nothing else will matter."

It occurred to me just then just how desperate Klaus was. I was his last hope to get Halia back, and he _needed _her back. If I wouldn't of been at risk

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to die, I think I would've helped Klaus willingly, just because of how obvious it was how much he loved Halia. I remembered my earlier words to Damon- _"Everything he's done in the past thousand years has been for her. It's seriously twisted, but really sad."_

What Klaus was doing for Halia was twisted and sad and romantic. It was what somebody did for someone they loved so much, they couldn't live without them. It was what, if roles were reversed, what I would have done for Damon. It was devotion of the strongest kind.

"Besides," Klaus continued suddenly. "I bet revenge is the last thing on Elijah's mind right now." He rolled his eyes, as if he was talking about two siblings and not two different kind of originals he had screwed over at the same time.

"Where's Damon?" I blurted out suddenly, my thoughts going back to him.

"He's perfectly fine, Hailey. He's alive-"

"I want to see him," I cut Klaus off. "Now."

I was in no position to be ordering anyone around, but Klaus just smirked and gestured for me to follow him. He led me into the hallway of a very huge, very fancy house. I tried my best to keep up with him, as he led me through double doors into a large room.

My eyes widened when I saw what was being hung from the wall by chains, like an animal. "Damon!"

He groaned at the sound of my voice, lifting his head to look at me. "Hailey?" he mumbled, his voice weak and barely audible.

I turned back to Klaus. "He's not a part of this, okay? You want me, I get that. You want me to raise Halia back from the dead. Damon has nothing to do with this! Let him go!" I exclaimed.

"But, he does, sweetheart," Klaus said slowly. "I can't kill you. I know that. Trust me, if I could, Bella would be dead instead of Elijah being daggered for two years. So, you see, he's your punishment, Damon. If you refuse to help me, I'll kill him and make you watch. If you help me and fail, I'll kill him and make you watch. Sensing a pattern here, love?"

I glared at him. It was just as I suspected. Klaus lowered his voice, his blue eyes darkening as he looked at me. "If I can't be with the love of my life, why should you be with yours?"

That was a twisted philosophy to live by. But I understood it. An eye for an eye. He wanted somebody to feel his pain, I understood that too. Hell, if roles were reversed, I could see myself saying the exact same words to another fairy. _If I can't be with the love of your life, why should you be with yours?_

It was starting to scare me, the similarities between Klaus and I.

I didn't have any options. There was no way I could let Damon die. Klaus knew that. That was why he chose Damon over everyone else. Not because I was short of people I would die for, but because Damon just added salt to the wound. He smirked at me.

"What will it be, love?"

I looked up at Damon, who was shaking his head. "No, Hailey. Don't do it," he mumbled. _I'm not worth it. _

I gulped and looked back to Klaus. "I'll help you," I said clearly, taking a deep breath. "I'll bring Halia back to life, and you'll let Damon live. And I won't fail."

"That's what I want to hear." Klaus smirked victoriously, and then began walking back towards the door. "Come on, Hailey. We're wasting precious time."

I looked up at Damon. I gulped, thinking that this might be the last time I got to see him, if I succeeded and died, or if I failed and died. Or if I failed and survived, then I would have to watch him die. I only hoped that I would succeed and die, so that Klaus would let him live.

_I love you, _I mouthed to him, feeling my eyes sting with silent tears. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself down. Then I turned my back on him and walked out of the room with Klaus.

_**~EL~**_

"You're alive," Bella breathed, as if repeating it over and over would help her believe it. "You're alive and you're here."

Elijah smiled at her gently, placing his hand on her cheek, as if touching her would prove her to not be a dream. "I'm alive and I'm here," he repeated, his voice not above a whisper.

Bella shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe it," she said. "I don't. This- this is just some sick joke."

"Believe it," he urged her, taking her face in his hands. "Believe it, Bella."

"You're lying," she said.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Elijah countered.

She sighed and shook her head slowly. "No, you haven't. Never."

"Then why would I be lying now?"

Bella sighed again. "Why would Klaus let you go?" she countered. She had a feeling she knew the answer, but her mind was mush as she stared at Elijah.

He shook his head. "I don't know." But, at that moment, he didn't care. He had Bella again. The first thing he saw when he awakened was Bella, and that was the best sight he could ever see. Nothing else mattered at that moment. He had her.

Bella was still up against the wall, Elijah and inch away from her. Whenever he breathed, she felt his warm breath against her face. She didn't mind, though. She didn't want to move. She never wanted to move away from Elijah.

"How long was I dead, Bella?" he asked her now, his fingers tracing the contours of her face. He knew her face by heart. He had seen it through many centuries. Her clothes and hair and makeup changed, but her face always remained the same. Her eyes, bright and full of warmth, never changed. Her smile, brighter than the stars in the sky, never changed. He never wanted them to change.

"Two years," she told him, whispering for reasons she didn't know. "The two longest years of my existence. They felt like millenniums, without you," she admitted.

Elijah's hands ran through her hair now. It was different than it had been, the last time he had saw her. It was shorter, just slightly. A little wavier as well. It had been perfectly straight, the last time he had saw her. She had been wearing this little red dress that made her look even more beautiful than she already was. God, he hoped nothing had happened to that dress.

But, more importantly, the last time Elijah had seen Bella, she had looked so much happier.

And that was saying something. The last time Elijah had seen Bella, she had lost everyone she had ever dared cared about. Her siblings, her parents, their children. Though, of course, Elijah had lost just the same. All they had left were each other, and then they lost that. Again.

How many times had Bella and Elijah lost each other? He didn't know. Too many times. One was too many times to lose Bella. Yet he had lost her three or four times over the past thousand years.

He would never lose her again. At that moment, Elijah promised himself that.

"Did Klaus manage to resurrect Halia was I was daggered?" he asked her, as Bella began tracing her fingers down his shoulders, and then down his chest. It was like they were studying each other again, remembering every single inch of each other's skin.

Bella shook her head. His words seemed to jog something in Bella's head, but she fought it off. She didn't want anything to ruin this moment with Elijah. After everything they had been through, they deserved this moment without it being ruined.

Her fingers found the tear in Elijah's suit, where the dagger had pierced his chest. She looked up at him, remembering the moment, how she had screamed his name and tried to get to him as he died on the living room. She remembered how Klaus had thrown her aside, grabbed his brother, and was gone before Bella could stand back up. She remembered how she had cried herself to sleep that night, praying that it had been some nightmare. It hadn't been.

Elijah suddenly tilted Bella's face upward, and his lips captured hers. It was as if he was kissing the bad memory away from her. She kissed him back hard, as if she would never get to kiss him again.

Bella pulled away, gasping for air. She looked up at him, finally believing that he was real, finally allowing herself to believe it. She kissed him again, softer this time. Then Bella wrapped her arms around Elijah's neck, clutching to him like she was drowning and he was a flotation device.

Elijah pulled her tightly against him, brushing her hair back. Her head came to rest against his chest, and the two continued to hug each other, not caring if they lived the rest of their existences out like this, in each other's arms.

_**~EL~**_

I didn't know how to bring a dead fairy back to life.

I paced the small, cramped room I was in, hoping that something would come to me. Nothing did.

I stayed as far away from Halia's body as I could. I found it creepy, how she had been dead for a thousand years, yet looked as if she had passed away an hour ago. The only thing giving that away was that the blood on her clothes was dried.

I took a deep breath and ran a hand over my face. I knew what I had to do, I just didn't want to do it. _It's for Damon, _I reminded myself. I had to keep Damon alive, if it was the last thing I did. It might've been.

I slid my ring off of my finger and put it into my pocket. My eyes were clutched tight, as I felt a swell of power that the ring had been keeping from me. I tried to get the nerve to open my eyes. And slowly, I did, not knowing what to expect.

I opened them, and looked around the room. Everything was the same. There was no ghosts anywhere, only the dead body of a fairy and me. I frowned slightly, a little disappointed. I had been expecting _something._

"Boo."

I turned around quickly, eyes widening at what I saw. The figure smirked back at me, eyes twinkling with mischief, though she looked so, so happy that I could see her.

There, standing in all of her glory, was the one and only Ava Forbes.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **So, remember all those months ago when I killed Ava and people were ready to form an angry mob? Well, she's back! I didn't plan it. I actually reread her death last night, and thought about how she would make a killer badass ghost sidekick for Hailey, at least temporarily. We'll see how she fits in.

I also hoped you enjoyed the Belijah scene. I missed writing them so much.

Thank you to: AudreyDarke96, Vamp-Diaries-4eva98, Kara, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	23. raising the dead

**Chapter twenty three**

**Raising the dead**

*Hailey*

"Ava," I breathed, eyes wider than what should have been physically possible. She smirked back at me, green eyes twinkling with mischief, though relief was clear as day in them.

I recognized her outfit. A red mini skirt and lacy red tank top we had bought together. Her blonde hair was curly. It was an outfit one would wear on a date, because Ava had been murdered by the tomb vamps during a date with one of my school's most notorious man whores. It was the outfit she died in.

Blood stained her pretty outfit, but there wasn't a mark on her body. Not a bite mark, not a drop of blood. At least ghosts' bodies got fully healed, especially the ones whose deaths weren't too pretty.

"God, you don't know how long I've been screaming at you, trying to get your attention," she said, hands on hips.

"How long?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Since I heard that you could see ghosts, about two months ago. Then I thought that that rumor was bullshit, because you clearly couldn't see me. But now here we are, having this lovely conversation," she said.

I frowned. "You only heard that I could see ghosts two months ago?" I asked disbelievingly.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, ghost world isn't exactly the hottest place to go for gossip. News travels slowly, mostly because ghosts aren't that friendly, not to me, anyway. You have to go to the hotspots- like hospitals and cemeteries, depressing places like that- and hope you come across Casper the friendly ghost, who's willing to share the latest gossip. We're really gossipy, for dead, unfriendly people. I guess it's because we have nothing else to do except to spy."

I frowned again. "Why do other ghosts not like you?"

"Because I'm human," she said. "I guess they're just jealous of me. Not everyone who dies becomes a ghost, Hailey. You have to either be supernatural, or die because of a supernatural. Supernaturals- witches, werewolves, fairies, vampires, shit like that- are stuck in limbo forever- they can't 'move on.' I'm a ghost because vamps killed me, but I can move on to heaven- or probably hell, in my case. Most ghosts can't, so they don't like me because of it. I come across some nice ones every once in a while."

I shook my head, taking in all this info on ghosts. It made sense, though, involving my dad. He was human, which meant something supernatural must've killed him. It also meant that humans who were killed by supernatural creatures only became ghosts by having unfinished business. My dad's was me. I wondered what Ava's was.

I couldn't think about that right now, though. I was so overwhelmed by Ava's sudden appearance and having to raise Halia from the dead. Ava suddenly smirked at me. "Your brother's hot, by the way," she told me. "If I was still alive, I would've hit that."

I just stared at her, guilt clear on my face. Her smirk melted away, and she sighed. "What's wrong, Hailey?"

"I'm so sorry, Ava-" I started to say, but she cut me off.

"No. No, none of this guilt for causing my death crap. No. You're not allowed to take the blame for that. So, you can shut the hell up if that's all you're going to do," she said stubbornly.

"But, Ava-" I argued.

"Shut the hell up, Hailey," she snapped.

"It is my fault, though!" I retorted. "If I hadn't made you switch your date, you would still be alive. You would be able to hit on my brother, and he would probably sleep with you, no matter how many times I'd tell him to stay the hell away from you."

"But if you hadn't, Hailey, you would've thought I was going to die, and that would make you a terrible friend- which you're not. I mean, maybe I was just meant to die, you know? Maybe my time was just up." She shrugged helplessly.

"No!" I exclaimed, suddenly angry. "If people were meant to die, vampires wouldn't exist. If people were meant to die, I'd be dead. Elena would be dead. Damon and Stefan would be dead. Everyone would be dead, but you would be alive."

"Honestly, Hailey, I'm over it. I've come to terms with being dead. And, really, I actually like being a ghost. Being dead is a lot easier than being alive. It requires less effort, and there's a lot less pressure on you. So don't feel sorry for me because I'm dead, Hailey. I feel sorry for you because you'll never be," Ava told me.

I frowned at her, taking in her words. Ava took a deep, unnecessary breath, and then said, "Now, let's get down to business, shall we?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, momentarily forgetting what I was supposed to be doing.

She smiled at me. "Turning into a vampire didn't make you any smarter, did it, Hailey?"

I rolled my eyes. "Just tell me why you're here, Ava."

"I'm here to help you raise Halia Erikson from the dead."

_**~EL~**_

I paced the room again, this time waiting for Ava to return with information. I felt hope this time, though. Ava would get information from ghosts, no matter what she had to do. I like having a ghostly sidekick. It made me feel better, knowing that Ava actually liked being a ghost. I still felt guilty over her death, though. And that guilt would stay with me forever.

"I'm back, bitch."

I turned around to face Ava, a smug smirk on her lips. "What took you so long?" I asked. She had been gone almost two hours.

"I had several ghosts to track down, and no one had been very willing to help me, though. But as soon as I name dropped you, they were almost too willing," she explained.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Why would I have any influence over dead people?" I asked, confused.

She shrugged. "You don't just see ghosts, Hailey. You have other powers over them, you can control them. They're probably worried you'd track them down somehow and mess with them if they didn't help me."

I frowned. I was interested in my other powers, but I knew better than to go digging into them. There were too many examples of what could happen, Victoria and Adora being two of them. "So, what did you find out?" I asked, sitting down at the small table that took up most of the small room.

"My first stop were the witches that Klaus first went to, to find out how to bring Halia back. I thought they could give us some insight on how this could be done," Ava said. "They told me that, and I quote, 'It must take fairy blood to resurrect a dead fairy. The new blood will replace the old, the fairy's life will flow through the dead, and the body will be reawakened. Then the fairy must force the spirit back into the reawakened body.' You can't make this shit up."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

Ava shrugged. "I don't speak witch." Then she frowned, suddenly serious. "I asked about the whole you dying thing too, and they said that, since you're half-vampire, your blood will be stronger, and you're more powerful than regular fairies. So I guess that means the odds are more in your favor for living."

"But none of that means anything if I can't bring Halia back and Klaus kills Damon," I muttered, pushing my bangs out of my face. "Who else did you talk to?"

"Annette Theroux," she said simply.

I frowned. "Who the hell's that?"

"A water fairy, from France, late 1800's. She was one of the fairies who tried to bring Halia back from the dead. She died during the process. But, she was very close, and was very willing to help us. She had the right technique, just not enough power," Ava explained.

I frowned. "What was her technique?" I asked.

"Annette cut her hand, cut Halia's, pressed their hands together- sharing their blood- and then tried to pull Halia's spirit into her body. She just didn't have enough power. But I think you will," she said.

I frowned. "You think that'll work?"

"I think it's the only plan we got."

I took a deep breath. Now was the moment of truth. I had to try now, and hope everything turned out alright. "Okay, let's do this."

"Don't you think you have to practice, Hailey? Do you know what you're doing?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm risking getting HIV from a dead corpse, and then I need to do some ghost whispering stuff, and she'll come back to life," I said, like it was that simple.

"Do you know how to do that ghost whispering stuff?" Ava asked pointedly.

I shrugged. "How hard must it be?"

"Hard enough to kill you!" she snapped.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "When did you get so responsible?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Death changes you, sometimes for the better."

I sighed. "I guess I'll summon her first. Then I'm winging the rest."

"That won't bite you in the ass," Ava muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Let's do this, alright?" I was suddenly nervous. I took a deep breath. Nerves wouldn't help me now.

I walked up to Halia's body. Her hands were folded neatly on her stomach, and I grabbed one. It was stiff, and I tried my best not to get grossed out. I took my nail and dug it into my hand, making sure to dig in deep as I scratched my palm, drawing blood. Then I did the same to Halia. And then I pressed our bloody hands together.

Instantly, I felt something change. I couldn't explain it. I looked over to Ava. "Do you feel that?" I asked.

She nodded. "I do."

I turned back to Halia, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. "Halia, come to me."

The hair on the back on my neck rose, and the electricity in the air became almost tangible. "Halia, come here!" I shouted.

I felt the hand gripping Halia's begin to shake, as power flowed through me to her. I understood now, in the middle of everything, what the witches meant, why I needed my blood. I needed to give Halia some of my life, to resurrect her. And it was dangerous and tricky, messing with life force. Giving her too little wouldn't work, giving her too much would kill me. It had to be the perfect balance.

And I wasn't good at balancing.

"Halia!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, gripping her dead hand tight. It was as almost as if a force was trying to pull my hand away, to break our grip. But I knew if I did that, I would fail. And I couldn't fail.

My hand, my whole body was shaking uncontrollably. I felt drained, but I gritted my teeth and willed Halia to come. I understood now what to do. I understood perfectly.

"Hailey!" Ava gasped suddenly, and I knew she was gone. I didn't look at her, though. I couldn't dare break my concentration.

My eyes flew open, and I barely caught a glance of Halia's ghost, looking confused and worried and scared, before she disappeared inside her body. I gasped, before I was thrown across the room into the wall.

I groaned softly, as I sat up. I felt absolutely drained of power, almost too weak to move, and my head was pounding. But I was alive.

Ava was gone. All that power must've forced her away. It really was confusing to understand, what I had just done, now that I wasn't doing it anymore, and I didn't bother to try. I stood up and looked at Halia's body. To anyone else, it would've looked like nothing had changed. But, to me, I could sense the life inside the dead body.

It had worked. I had resurrected Halia.

"What happened? What did you do?"

Klaus was suddenly in the room, looking anxious. His eyes were glued to Halia's body, her right arm bloody and draped over her coffin.

"Can I go home now?" I asked him casually, crossing my arms over my chest.

He looked at me like I was stupid. "Once Halia is alive, then yes."

"Well, she is," I said. "So, I'm gonna go get Damon and we'll be out of your hair."

Klaus blocked the doorway and glared at me. "She is _not _alive, Hailey," he snarled. "Anyone can see that."

I rolled my eyes. "She's been dead a thousand years. Give her some time to warm up," I replied dryly, but Klaus didn't budge.

"Then you can leave once Halia is breathing and I can see for myself that she's alive," he said stubbornly.

I sighed and ran my hand over my face. I was exhausted. "It took a lot out of me, bringing her back to life. It's going to take a lot of rest and relaxation to get back to normal. Just let me get Damon and leave. It won't matter if we're here or not. Let's say I'm wrong- which I'm not- and she's not alive. You can very easily track me down and kill Damon right in front of me," I said. "So, just let me leave. On good faith."

He sighed. I could practically see Klaus not allowing himself to hope, but it was there in his eyes when he looked at Halia. That, and affection, adoration, and love. When Klaus looked at Halia, he became a different person than the Klaus I knew. I was sure that it was Halia's Klaus who said, "Fine. On good faith. But if Halia isn't alive…" he trailed off, allowing me to fill in the blank myself.

I quickly hurried past him, before he could change his mind. I went straight to Damon's room, to find him still hanging from the ceiling, though he was passed out. In quickly broke his chains and dragged him out of the room, using up what little strength I had left.

I made it out of Klaus' mansion and down the road before I collapsed on the road. Breathing heavily, I dug through Damon's shirt to find that his phone was, shockingly, still in his pocket. I pressed a shaky kiss against his lips, before I leaned my head against his chest and called my big brother.

_**~EL~**_

Klaus must have paced the small room a thousand times before he let out a growl of frustration and looked at Halia's body. There was still no sign of life.

He ran a hand over his face. Had Hailey lied to him? It had been over an hour, and Halia was still dead. He closed his eyes. Maybe… maybe it was time he gave up. Maybe he just had to accept that Halia was gone for good, and that he could never get her back.

Then he thought about her big brown eyes and kind smile, and about how his love for her had never once faltered over the last thousand years, and his resolve stiffened. He and Halia would be back together again.

He caught himself smiling slightly, just thinking about her smile. He felt his heart warm in his chest, and he knew that he could never, ever give up on Halia. She would never give up in him.

Suddenly, a fragile sound filled his ears. Klaus looked up at Halia's body, still unmoving. But he had heard something. It was a heartbeat.

He heard it again, coming from her. His eyes widened slightly. Halia's heart was beating once more. But she still looked dead.

Halia's big brown eyes popped open in shock, she gasped as her lungs filled with air, and she shot up.

She was alive.

_**~EL~**_

"I can't believe you brought Halia back to life."

I struggled to keep my eyes open as I chugged blood, almost as much as Damon was. Jace looked concerned, his eyes glued to me. I think he was starting to realize just how close he came to losing me that night.

"Well, she wasn't exactly alive when I left," I said, wiping my mouth on the back of my head.

Ava hadn't showed up since she disappeared suddenly. I was worried about her. Hopefully she'd show up soon. I liked having her as my badass ghost sidekick.

"I need to call Bella," I said, standing up. I knew she had Elijah back, but she needed to know that I had resurrected her sister.

"No, you need to go upstairs and rest. You look half-dead, Hailey," Jace said firmly.

"Technically, I am," I shot back, looking to Damon for support.

"Shockingly, I'm on fairy boy's side. You can deal with your irresponsible ancestor later," he said, standing up. Jace glared at him.

I sighed. "Fine," I muttered. I was too tired to argue.

Just as I was starting to stand up, I gasped suddenly. I looked to Jace, and knew he felt it too. His eyes were wide, as were mine. We stared at each other, both wondering what the feeling shooting through us was.

"What? What's going on?" Damon demanded, frowning at me.

"I felt… something," I said vaguely, knowing exactly what it was, but not knowing how to describe it.

"It felt like an alert of sorts," Jace tried to explain. "Like an alert of life."

"Well, that's easy," Damon said. "You two felt Halia coming back to life. Turns out Hailey did succeed."

I shook my head. "No, Damon. You don't understand."

"It wasn't one alert," Jace said. "It was six individual ones."

"One for each fairy," I muttered. My eyes widened. "One for each original."

Damon frowned at me. "What are you talking about?"

"There are seven original fairies," I said. "But only Bella's alive. At least, until now."

Jace's eyes widened as he understood what I was saying. "You don't think…" he shook his head. "That's not possible."

"I don't know what to think," I replied, already walking to the door. "But I know how to check."

I was out the door before they could stop me.

_**~EL~**_

It was night as I stumbled through the woods, Damon and Jace hot on my heels. I traced the path Bella and I had made not too long ago. Soon, I found the entrance to the cave, and walked into it without second thoughts.

Using my flashlight as light, I led the group deep into the tunnel. There was silence for five minutes, before I stopped at a room, peering into it to find the stone coffins. This was the right room.

"What do you expect to find?" Damon asked, as I walked up to a random coffin. I set my flashlight on the ground, and it lit up the whole room.

"I'm not sure," I answer honestly. Then I lifted the rock slab off easily, and set it on the ground.

Inside, was a body. Gemma. I recognized her from her ghost. She looked dead, like she should be. Then, my eyebrows furrowed as I heart a low, fragile sound. Four of them.

They were heartbeats.

My eyes widened. "No way," I breathed.

Gemma's eyes opened, and she gasped for air. At the same time, I heard her brothers do the same.

The entire original family of fairies were alive.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **So, I know the resurrection business was confusing. I was confused myself. If you're really that confused, let me know and I'll try my best to explain it.

Thank you to: Camilla2198, AudreyDarke96, , Kara, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	24. resurrection

**Chapter twenty four**

**Resurrection **

*Hailey*

"Oh my God," I repeated over and over again. How was this even possible? How could all of the original fairies be alive?

Gemma was coughing as she sat up. "Wha- what's going on? Where am I? How am I alive?" she repeated over and over again, much like me. She looked up at me, and then relaxed. "Oh, Bella, you're here! Did you do this?"

I shook my head. "I'm- I'm not Bella," I muttered.

"I hate to break up this family reunion, but unless you want the male half of the originals to suffocate, I'd suggest we get them out of their rock coffins," Damon said.

I nodded eyes still wide. With a wave of my hand, the three slabs of rock covering Adrian, Joseph, and Garrett's coffins were slid off of them, and the brothers sat up, looking just as lost and confused as Gemma.

"Bella?" Garrett asked, looking at me. "What happened?"

I just shook my head. "I have to go call Bella. Now. She needs to know what happened," I said to Damon and Jace.

"Wait," Damon said suddenly, grabbing my arm before I could walk out of the cave.

"What?" I asked. "This can't really wait, Damon."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked pointedly. I frowned at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.

He sighed. "Hailey, how many original fairies are there?"

"Seven," I answered, wondering why he was quizzing me right now.

"Name them for me," he ordered.

I frowned at him. "Right now?"

"Just name them," he demanded and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. Weirdo. Bella, Halia, Gemma, Adrian, Joseph, Garrett, and-" I cut myself off, eyes widening. "Adora."

"Exactly. And if all the formerly dead fairies are now alive, what do you think that means about her?"

"It means pyscho Adora is alive too," I answered. Then I remembered what Bella had told me, what she had done with her sister's body. "And six feet in the ground somewhere."

"Maybe, if we're lucky, she'll suffocate to death," Damon said hopefully. The last thing we needed was _another _crazy fairy running around Mystic Falls.

"Maybe, but we're not that lucky," I replied, starting towards the exit again. Caves were not good places for cell reception. "Stay with them, alright? We can't have four fairies who know nothing about this century running around town."

Damon nodded, and then returned to my fairy ancestors. As soon as I got above ground, I pulled out my cell phone and called Bella. When she didn't answer, I tried not to think about the various places she and Elijah were having sex, along with the positions. It was like thinking about your parents doing it. Elijah and Bella were like my parents, only great grandparents- multiplied a couple hundred times.

I called Bella. I kept calling Bella. Leaving a voicemail wasn't an option. I had to know where Adora was buried. Finally, maybe the 12th time I called her, she finally answered.

"_Hailey? What is it? I'm a little busy right now."_

I managed a smirk at her irritated tone. "I don't even want to know what you've been doing, alright? Just put your bra back on, because we have a serious situation I need you to help me with."

_**~EL~**_

Elijah kissed Bella's neck repeatedly, on the exact spots he knew were sensitive. That was the thing about being with the same person for a thousand years- you knew what made them tick. You knew what made them angry, what made them sad. And you knew what made them moan out in pleasure, like Bella was doing, gripping every inch of Elijah she could grab- his hair, his shoulders, his skin.

Their lips met again. They had moved on in their reunion- from shock, to acceptance, to embracing each other like they never intended to let go, to hot, thoughtless reunion sex. The last two years had been long, too long.

Elijah hooked her bare leg up around his hip, their lips never parting. Bella had lost track of what round that was. She was too lost in Elijah- in his touches, his kisses. In his growls when she did something that only made him want her more. It amazed her, how that they've been together for a thousand years, yet she still got lost in him the same way she did when she was thirteen and just falling for him.

Elijah's fingers ran over the bare skin of Bella's thigh. Pale and soft, with no visible marks flawing it whatsoever. He pushed her messy black hair out of her face and off of her neck, so that he could see her eyes. He loved Bella's eyes. Elijah pulled away from her slightly, though she could still feel his warm breath against her skin. She was breathing heavily, as was he.

Bella's eyes were soft as he just stared into them, eyebrows furrowed slightly. They hadn't changed. They were still bright and soft and full of warmth that had never changed, not even when she became a vampire.

She smiled slightly at him, her hand coming to rest on his cheek. His came to rest over it, his fingers curling around her wrist. That gesture said what they didn't. _I love you. I missed you. We will never be apart again. I promise._

Then his lips captured hers again. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and Elijah lifted her up from the sagging, old couch, and set her on an old rickety table. They would most likely break it, like they had most furniture in the old, abandoned house.

Bella and Elijah's kisses were hot and hard and bruising. They usually weren't like that. They were a soft, warm couple. They had hot sex like most couples, but reunion sex wasn't like hot sex they had had in the past. It was wilder, hotter- better.

An annoying ringing caused Elijah to growl in annoyance against Bella's lips. "What's that?" he asked, still kissing her.

She sighed, her fingers running through his hair. "It's my phone," she mumbled against Elijah's lips. "Just ignore it."

"Gladly."

But the phone kept ringing and ringing and ringing. The two couldn't pretend to ignore it forever. Its shrill sound was killing the mood. Finally, Bella growled and detached herself from Elijah. She had a feeling she knew exactly who was calling her. It didn't even occur to her that something important had happened. All she wanted to do was wring Hailey's neck. Did she not realize that she hadn't had sex in two years?

"I'll just see what she wants," she said to Elijah. "And then I'll smash my phone against the wall."

She saw that it was, in fact, Hailey, and growled again. "Hailey? What is it? I'm a little busy right now," she said, not even bothering to keep the annoyance out of her tone.

"_I don't even want to know what you've been doing, alright?" _Hailey said, sounding like she was smirking ever so slightly._ "Just put your bra back on, because we have a serious situation I need you to help me with."_

Bella frowned. She didn't even know where her bra was. "What happened, Hailey?" she asked, looking back to Elijah who was frowning at her with his eyebrows furrowed.

"_Where do I even begin?" _Hailey said, more to herself than to Bella.

"Start with why you're calling me at-" she checked the time on her phone, "one in the morning."

"_I know where to begin, I just don't know how to phrase this over the phone." _Bella's frown deepened. Hailey was very blunt, and the fact that she was careful how to choose her words concerned Bella. What had happened while she was busy with Elijah?

"Just tell me, Hailey," she said, trying to be as polite as possible, but it wasn't working.

"_Fine," _she said. _"Your siblings are alive."_

Bella's eyes widened. "What?" she said, eyes going to Elijah again. She imagined they had the same facial expression and thoughts. Had they misheard Hailey? It had to be. There's no way her siblings could be alive.

"_Your brothers and sisters are alive, Bella," _Hailey repeated, a little kinder this time.

Bella shook her head. "No. Not possible. They- they're dead, Hailey. They died!"

Hailey sighed. _"Look, Bella, I get it. You're freaking out right now. Your siblings are alive and that's a lot to process, but I need you to answer one question for me. Just one, alright? Then I'll explain everything to you."_

Bella was still shaking her head, unable to understand anything Hailey had said. Then Elijah was there. He forced her into his shirt, to cover her up, and then pushed her gently onto the couch. While brushing hair behind her ear, he pulled the phone from her weak grip.

"Hailey?" Elijah said. He knew a little about the fairy on the line with him. Bella had filled him in slightly on everything that was going on. Hailey Ellis was Bella's descendant- _their_ descendant, really- and was a fairy-vampire hybrid just like his Bella. Bella had known this Hailey for a few days, but she already saw her has family, as a sister, as a daughter. She would protect this Hailey with all she had. This Hailey was important to Bella, which meant she was important to Elijah.

"_Yeah. I'm guessing you're Elijah," _she replied.

"You would be right," he said, looking down at Bella. "What is your question? I might be able to answer it."

Hailey paused, then figured that he probably did know the answer to her question. _"I need to know where Bella buried Adora."_

Elijah knew exactly where, for he was the one who buried her. Bella had been unable to do it. His gaze was stuck on Bella, looking lost as she remembered just how much she missed her siblings, a hallow pain that had never really went away, but that she had become numb to. He didn't bother to ask why. Hailey sounded anxious and on her last nerve.

"In the woods, by a small pond," he answered.

She sighed. _"I'm going to need more detail than that."_

"Where are you?" he asked, trying his best to remember the exact location.

"_The tomb," _she answered, knowing that he would know what she was talking about.

"If you keep walking deeper into the woods, and just keep walking straight, you should find the spot. It was right next to the pond, right by the only tree for a few feet." Elijah paused. "May I ask why you need to know this?"

Hailey sighed. _"Bella's siblings are alive," _she told him quietly. "All _of them are alive."_

Elijah knew instantly what she meant, and why she was in such a hurry.

Adora was more than likely alive. And that wasn't a good thing.

_**~EL~**_

"Are you sure you're alright? Is there anything else you need?"

Halia smiled and shook her head. "No, Niklaus, I'm fine. Perfect, really. I just- I don't understand. How am I alive? How?"

Klaus just shook his head. "Don't worry about that right now, love. Alright? I will explain everything in the morning," he said, brushing Halia's damp brown hair out of her face.

She smiled. "Fine, you better."

"I will, I promise." Then he frowned. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you-"

"Niklaus." She rolled her eyes at him. He was fussing over her, and though it was amusing, it was unnecessary. She was perfectly fine. Overwhelmed and amazed and in shock, but fine. Klaus had helped her take a shower, and now she was in a warm night gown, sitting on his bed.

She didn't understand this century. She didn't understand the clothes or the furniture. She didn't understand how water came from the ceiling, already warm. She didn't understand how the room flooded with light with the flick of a switch. She didn't understand how food was kept fresh in metal contraptions called "refrigerators." She didn't understand these strange objects that had pictures of people in them. Klaus called them "televisions."

She didn't understand any of it. And all of it amazed her.

Her eyes filled with excitement. "Can you explain this macrowave again? It sounded so interesting."

He smiled at her gently. "It's a microwave, love. And don't you think we should get you to bed?"

She shook her head like a child. "No! There's so much I want to hear about! I'm not even tire-" her words cut off into a yawn and he chuckled.

"Come on, Halia. I promise I will teach you everything you need to know about this century and more. I will teach you everything you wish to know tomorrow. But you're exhausted and need sleep," he said.

She sighed but nodded. "Fine." She suddenly looked up at him with wide eyes. "You're going to stay with me, right?"

"Of course," he said quickly. "I don't plan on leaving you alone for the next dozen centuries."

Halia smiled as Klaus helped her into bed. She watched with interest as he turned off all the lights with just a flick of his wrist, and the room went dark. Her first question tomorrow would be how that worked. Then she would spend two hours playing around with the magic switch.

Klaus slid into bed, and Halia allowed herself to relax at his presence, resting her head on his chest and closing her big brown eyes. Klaus watched her with almost fear in his eyes. He was extra gentle with her, flinching at every move she made. He was worried that Halia would drop dead at any moment, that something would go wrong with her resurrection and he would never get to have her ever again.

Her hand found his, looking smaller as his curled around it, their fingers intertwining. Klaus ran his free hand through her long hair, feeling that she was, indeed, real. Halia was alive again. Life would be good again. And now that he had her back again, he would never, ever lose her again.

"Niklaus?" Her voice came out as a whisper, thick with sleepiness.

"Yes, love?" he murmured, his fingers still running through her hair, their hands still joined together, resting on his chest.

"It's true, isn't it? You waited a thousand years for me? You did everything you could to bring me back to life? You did all of this for me, didn't you?"

Klaus paused. "I did," he answered, casual, like it was no big deal.

"A thousand years, Klaus," she repeated, awed. "That's a very long time."

"And I would wait a thousand more for you, Halia," he said.

Halia looked up at him. "I love you," she said so simply. "I do."

He smiled at her. How long had he waited for her to say that? Had it only been a thousand years? It felt like a million. "I love you too," he said, though those four words didn't seem to hold enough meaning to them. They were too simple, to easily said, to describe what they had gone through.

Klaus had, in fact, waited a thousand years for Halia.

And maybe that would be enough to keep her around once she found out what he had done in those thousand years.

_**~EL~**_

I tried my best to follow Elijah's directions as I stumbled through the woods. It only became thicker and harder to walk and see the farther I got in. I had no idea where I was going. But I had to find Adora. I had no idea what I would be doing after I found her, though.

What did one do when their crazy fairy ancestor came back from the dead?

"Well, you look like you're having the time of your life."

I jumped slightly and turned to face Ava. I gave a sigh of relief. I was so happy to see her. "You're back," I said, making my way under a fallen tree.

"I'm back," she said. "And you're going the wrong way."

I sighed. "Care to enlighten me, oh ghostly one?" I said dryly.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she muttered, turning left and walking right through the trees and sticks and branches.

I struggled to keep up with her. "I haven't slept in twenty hours. I just did a super powerful spell and brought back a family of original fairies. So excuse me if I'm a little on the bitchy side," I retorted, before frowning. "Where'd you go?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Where I always go when I accidently walk into no-no zones," she explained vaguely.

I raised my eyebrows. "No-no zones? You do realize that that name sounds like a five year old came up with it?"

She rolled her eyes and ignored me. "A no-no zone is a zone where ghosts can't walk on, and we get rebounded back to this weird place. It's really creepy, actually. It's this dead field with these cloaked figures huddled together, muttering some very old Latin."

"Witches?" I guessed.

Ava nodded. "Yeah, really old witches. The ones that set the rules for the living witches. I try to stay as far away from them as possible while I recharge."

"What are these no-no zones?" I asked.

"All holy grounds, like churches. Or any place that was marked by a lot of witch energy or magic," she explained. "That's why I was rebounded. Because you used so much power, I was sent back to creepy dead witch land. The good news, though, is that I got to do some research while my batteries were charging, and I found Adora."

"Good. Then lead the way, Casper," I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Bite me, Tinkerbell," she replied.

"Don't tempt me," I retorted.

We walked in silence for five more minutes, before Ava stopped suddenly. I saw the pond and the tree, just like Elijah described.

"Oh, no," Ava muttered suddenly, and I frowned.

"What? Are we on a no-no zone?" I asked, walking up to her.

"No, nothing like that," she said, before pointing to the ground. "Look."

I looked, and my eyes widened. "Oh, no."

There was a hole in the ground, about the size of a body my size. It looked as if somebody had dug themselves out of their grave. Which was exactly what had happened.

Adora was gone.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed the Belijah and Klalia scenes. Hopefully we'll see some Dailey next chapter.

Thank you to: Mia Salvatore, witchlouise, Samantha meyers, AudreyDarke96, SomebodyWhoCares, WWE-Little-Angel, Guest, Lady Syndra, and Charmedgrays for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	25. Adora

**Chapter twenty five**

**Adora**

*Hailey*

"We have a problem."

"Understatement of the century, Hails." Ava scoffed.

I glared at her. "Shut up Ava, I'm on the phone. Go haunt a cemetery."

"_What are you talking about, Hailey? Did you say Ava?"_

Ava rolled her eyes and muttered something to herself before wandering off. I focused back on my conversation with Damon. "Yeah, I'll fill you in on that craziness later. But right now we have a problem. A huge problem."

"_Oh, joy. What is it now?"_

I took a deep breath. "Adora's gone."

A few beats of silence passed before Damon spoke again. _"What? Please tell me exhaustion has gotten to you, Hailey," _he said disbelievingly.

"I wish I could, Damon. But I can't. Adora's gone. She's nowhere to be found. And we're totally screwed. I don't want to be the one to tell Bella that her psycho sister who murdered half her family is out wandering about." I sighed and ran a hand over my face.

"_Sucks to be you, then. Because you probably will be." _Damon sighed too. _"What are we going to do?"_

"I have no idea."

Damon was silent on the other line, as we both debated what to do. What did you do- what _could _you do- when a formerly dead original fairy with a few screws loose was alive and running around Mystic Falls?

I knew the answer. You drank. Unfortunately for me, there were no bars out in the middle of the woods. So there was nothing I could do.

"How are the originals doing?" I asked finally. There was nothing else to talk about, involving the Adora situation.

"_They're really shaken up. Jace is with them right now. They don't like me being too near them, since I'm a vampire. They trust Jace, though."_

"Is Bella there yet?" I asked.

"_Nope. But the sooner she gets here, the better."_

"I'll be back soon, okay?" I said to Damon.

"_Alright. Just… be careful. There's a crazy fairy on the loose."_

My smile was weak as I hung up on him. I looked around for Ava, but she was long gone. Hopefully she would pop up again. I had to get back to the original fairies. I needed to work on damage control.

The run back to the tomb was quick. Damon was waiting outside as I pushed past the branches and joined him.

"You look exhausted," he noted as I rubbed my eyes.

I nodded. "I feel like I'm about to drop dead," I muttered.

"Well, I'll make sure nobody steps on you," he joked. I just rolled my eyes.

"Are you coming?" I asked as I walked down the steps.

Damon shook his head. "Like I said, I freak them out. I'll just wait out here."

I nodded and then walked into the tomb. A few minutes later I came across a room lit up with fire lit torches. I stifled a yawn before joining my brother and our ancestors.

"…It's the 21st century. When Hailey gets back, we'll explain everything. Alright?" Jace was saying.

The four original fairies trained their eyes on me as I walked to my brother's side. "Bella," Adrian breathed, looking relieved. "Thank God you're here."

Garrett shook his head slightly. "But that is not Bella. I do not know where Bella is, but she is not here."

"I'm Hailey," I introduced myself again. "And I'm Bella's descendant. I guess I'm your descendant too."

"Hailey." Gemma looked up at me. She looked shocked and confused and a little terrified. But she looked relieved, too. Relieved that she actually recognized something from this century. Me.

"I remember you," she said. "You were the one with the ghost problems. How did that work out for you?"

"Fine, I suppose," I said, though I did get depressed after my dad left me again, so it hadn't been a good experience in my life.

"Where's my sister? She would be here if she knew that we had been raised from the dead. Where is Bella?" Gemma's eyes widened slightly. "She- she is still alive, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Bella's still alive. She should be here anytime now," I said.

"Hailey," Joseph cut in, bringing my attention to him. "How- how are we here right now? We died, all of us, a thousand years ago."

"Well, long story short, I was trying to bring Halia back to life, and I somehow brought you guys back to life with her," I said a little bluntly, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against a rocky wall.

There was a collective silence among the siblings. All of their eyes widened. "Halia," Garrett said in a hushed whisper. "Halia, you say? She- she is alive too?"

I nodded. "Halia is alive too," I said.

"How?" Gemma all but demanded. "How did you do it? How did you bring us all back to life?"

"I have absolutely no idea," I replied honestly.

There was the sudden rush of wind that only I could here. I looked up at the threshold, the five confused humans following my lead. Then, in the blink of an eye, Bella was there. Her eyes were wide in shock and disbelief.

She stared at her four siblings like she couldn't believe they were there. I noticed that her hair was messy. It was sex hair. Her clothes were badly wrinkled, and she pretty much smelled like sex. Despite how tired I was, despite the fact that Adora was God knows where, my nose wrinkled and I allowed one brief second to think about how disgusting Bella and Elijah sex was.

"It's true," she whispered. "I don't know how it's possible, but it's true. You're all alive."

Gemma took a step forward towards her younger sister. "Bella," she breathed, looking like she might cry.

As Gemma pulled Bella into her arms, I turned to Jace. "Let's go, alright? I have to talk to Elijah," I said.

Jace's eyebrows furrowed. "Why?" he asked, oblivious to the emotional sibling reunion going on around us.

I just scoffed and rolled my eyes. I wanted to give Bella some privacy with her siblings, but if I said that out loud, it could kill the mood.

"We're going, alright?" I said, before roughly grabbing Jace by the arm and dragging him out of the room.

We came across Elijah before we even made it to the surface. "Hailey, I assume," he said, stepping towards me. "It's a pleasure to meet you face to face."

I nodded. I knew that Elijah needed to know what was going on with Adora. "Jace, leave," I said bluntly, not bothering to look at my brother.

He muttered something about me being extra bitchy when I was tired, before he walked past Elijah and up to the ground.

"We have a problem," I said as soon as my brother was out of hearing range.

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Adora's gone. I have absolutely no idea where she is."

Elijah's face darkened, and he cursed silently. "That is a problem," he said finally.

"Should we tell her?" I asked, meaning Bella. I could hear her talking softly, soothingly to her siblings, not too far away from Elijah and I.

He shook his head. "No, not tonight."

I frowned. "She needs to know, Elijah," I said.

"And she will," he replied. "But not tonight. It would all be too much for Bella to take on in one day. I will tell her myself tomorrow, once we get her siblings settled into this century."

I nodded. "Fine, I'm too tired to argue anyway."

"You can go home, Hailey. Bella and I have this all under control," he said. "I can only imagine how draining bringing a family of fairies back from the dead is."

I smiled slightly. "I'm ready to pass out." I paused. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "We'll contact you if you're needed."

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow, and we'll take care of the Adora problem then," I said, already walking up towards the ground, towards Damon.

The sky was lightening when I finally found Damon and my brother. "Let's go home," I said to them. "There's nothing left for us to do here."

As we started to leave, I thought about the mess that awaited us tomorrow.

Adora was going to be the death of all of us, I was sure of it.

_**~EL~**_

"We're screwed. We're all screwed."

I dropped onto my bed, barely bothering to take off my shoes before getting under the blankets. The mattress felt even more comfortable than usual.

"I think you're being a little overdramatic," Damon replied, as he tossed his jacket onto the back of a chair.

Ellie hoped up on our bed and curled up against my side. She purred adoringly, and I scratched the top of her head. "I don't think so. I think we're all screwed. I think Adora is going to mess shit up badly. Hell, she might even kill us all," I said.

Damon sighed, and got into bed next to me. "Relax Hailey, okay?" he said. "Just relax."

I sighed too. "How can I relax when there's a crazy pyscho running around Mystic Falls?" I whined.

"Crazy psycho is redundant, but that's not the point. You forgot that she's running around in the same town her siblings are in. And I'm willing to be that they're not gonna be too happy with her. Hell, Klaus is going to want to wear Adora's ribs as a hat after she took his precious Halia away from him," he soothed.

"I'm just scared, Damon," I admitted, resting my head on his chest. "I'm scared of Adora."

"Don't be, okay Hailey?" he said, kissing my forehead. "Because there are a dozen powerful people she'll have to answer to when we do finally track her down."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I was so, so tired. And a tiny bit paranoid. I didn't even answer Damon as I fell into a state of unconsciousness.

How dangerous could Adora be anyways, was my last thought. She was in a century she was completely unfamiliar in. She had no allies here, no one who would help her.

I knew the answer, though. It just made her even more dangerous.

_**~EL~**_

Adora looked hastily around her as she made her way down a street. She had no idea where she was, what was going on. She kept seeing things that were completely new to her, like cars and houses. She had no idea what those things are. A few of them even frightened her a bit.

"Hey, you there."

Adora looked up to see a young woman, eyebrows furrowed slightly. She was wearing clothes that were semi-hilarious to Adora, and standing on a porch connected to a house.

"Yes?" Adora raised an eyebrow. For some reason, the woman wasn't affected by her dirty appearance. She didn't pay any mind to the dirty, bloody dress she wore, that belonged in a century too long ago to mean anything.

Adora could practically feel it, though. She knew what the woman was. She was a _witch._

"I don't know why," she started to say. "But I'm supposed to help you. The spirits said so. _She _said so."

Adora smirked slightly. Usually, she never would accept the help of a witch, but she was in no place to get picky.

"Well, you can start by explaining to me what century I'm in," Adora said, walking towards the woman.

Adora did have allies in this century after all. At least, for now she did.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **Sorry it took me so long to update. I was on vacation, and then I found this chapter really hard to write.

Thank you to: Guest, ravenclawfairy, purpleXorchid, AudreyDarke96, camilla2198, SomebodyWhoCares, Mia Salvatore, witchlouise, and WWE-Little-Angel for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	26. lies

**Chapter twenty six**

**Lies**

*Hailey*

When I woke up, I felt refreshed, good as new. I stretched as I flipped onto my side to face Damon. He was still asleep, his arm laying across his chest. I frowned slightly as I pushed my messy bed hair out of my face.

I was suddenly reminded of the fact that I hadn't had sex in three weeks. That may not seem like a lot to some people, but to me it was equivalent to three years. Now seemed like the perfect time to take care of my needs. Besides, I needed a distraction from psycho Adora. Damon and I both needed one.

"Damon?" I pushed his shoulder, hoping to wake him up.

He groaned softly, his eyes still closed. "What do you want, Hailey?" he mumbled, sounding half asleep.

"Wanna have sex?"

A sleepy smirk appeared on Damon's lips. "You're so romantic, Hailey," he said sarcastically, his eyes opening slowly.

I rolled my eyes. "Is that a no?"

He sat up and grabbed my face with his hands. His lips caught mine, and my arms wrapped around his neck as I kissed him back. Damon didn't say anything, as the kiss became much more intense, much more passionate. He was feeling the three weeks just as badly as I was.

I took control, and, surprisingly, Damon let me. I climbed on top of him, our lips never breaking. When I finally pulled away for air, Damon's hands were on my hips, his fingers slipping under the shirt I was wearing, pressing against my bare skin.

"What's with the sudden need for sex?" he asked me curiously, his voice deep, his eyes dark with lust as he kissed my neck.

I shrugged. "It's just been a while, is all." I raised an eyebrow. "Are you complaining?"

"Not even a little bit."

We kissed again, and Damon began to take off my shirt. Lucky for him, I wasn't wearing anything underneath.

And then my phone rang.

We both groaned, our lips still one. "Just ignore it," Damon mumbled, flipping us over so that he was on top.

I paused. "What if it's important?" I asked with a frown.

With a sigh and all the strength I had, I slipped out from under Damon and answered my phone. "This better be good," I growled.

"_Morning to you too, sis."_

"What do you want, Jace?" I asked with a sigh, as I walked out of my bedroom and down the hall. Then I frowned. "Wait, aren't you here, at the boarding house? Why are you calling me? Are you really so lazy you can't walk down the hallway to talk to me?"

"_Nope, I'm not at the boarding house. I left this morning. I didn't want to wake you," _he said.

"That's so nice of you. Now seriously, what do you want? You've just interrupted the first time I was going to get laid in weeks," I said impatiently.

I could practically see Jace's face of disgust. _"Can we please, please not talk about your sex life, Hails?" _he begged.

"You have five seconds to tell me why you called, or I'm going to go into deep detail about my sex life," I threatened.

"_I'm with the original fairies. Bella wants you to join us," _he said quickly.

I sighed. "Alright. I'll be there in a half an hour or so," I said.

"_See you then."_

I hung up on my brother, and then quickly walked back towards the bedroom. I planned to have sex with Damon before I went and joined the original fairies.

_**~EL~**_

"It's quite simple, Love. You just flip the switch and the lights go on. You flip it back, and they turn off again."

A childish grin took place on Halia's lips as she flipped the light switch, turning the living room lights on. Her eyes widened slightly, then her grin grew. She began rapidly flipping the switch, finding it entertaining to do so.

Klaus chuckled from her side. "Careful sweetheart, you're running up my electricity bill," he said teasingly. Then he grabbed her hand and led her back towards the couch. "Come on, I want to teach you how to use a cell phone."

Halia pouted. "But I rather liked the light switch," she said.

"You'll have plenty time to play with the lights once I have you caught up on all the technology of this century," Klaus said, taking his phone out of his pocket.

The entire morning had been dedicated to teaching Halia everything about the 21st century. She learned how to use the shower, how to use some of the simpler machines in the kitchen, and all about electricity. She even looked like she belonged in the century.

Klaus had gotten her all new clothes, and her long hair that used to go to her waist was now to her shoulders. It was a big change for Halia, but she was taking everything in stride. It helped that Klaus was there, squeezing her hand comfortingly whenever things got too confusing for her to understand.

"I wish to see Bella," Halia said suddenly, looking up at him. "She is still alive, is she not? She is a vampire, yes?"

Klaus frowned. "Uh, yes, she is still alive. With Elijah, I assume," he said finally.

Halia smiled. "Good, she'll always be happy as long as she's with him," she said, before her smile went away and she looked up seriously at Klaus. "Where is she? When can I see my sister?"

Klaus paused. He was afraid to let Halia see her sister. Because he knew that the first thing Bella would do would be to tell Halia the truth. She'd tell her about what a monster he had turned into over the centuries he had been without her. She'd tell her about how Klaus had daggered his siblings one by one over the centuries. Then she'd tell Halia just exactly how Klaus had gotten her back.

And by the end of their conversation, Halia would never want to see him again.

"Niklaus, are you alright?"

Klaus looked back down at Halia, who looked concerned. He forced a smile and nodded. "Of course I am, Love. I'm just still in shock that I have you back," he lied, brushing her newly short hair out of her face.

Halia smiled, and instantly forgotten all about her need to see Bella. She wrapped her arms around Klaus and rested her head against his chest. "You have me back," she murmured. "And you'll never lose me again. I promise."

Klaus had the strong urge to hold her to that.

_**~EL~**_

The directions Jace texted me led me to an old house in the middle of nowhere that looked to be falling apart on the outside. I was about to walk into the old house, when it was like I walked right into an invisible brick wall.

The house had a human owner, apparently.

"Hey, there you are!" Jace smiled at me as he walked up to the front door. "Come on in, Hails. Join the party."

"I can't, Jace," I said. "Remember that your sister is a badass vampire, and badass vampires can't go into houses uninvited."

"Oh, right." He nodded in understanding. "Adrian, can you invite Hailey in?" He yelled at the top of his lungs, and I flinched.

"They're a thousand years old, Jace, not deaf," I muttered.

Adrian walked down the hallway and towards us. He no longer looked like the scared and confused man I saw the night before. His hair was no longer long, his clothes no longer stained with blood. His hair was short, and he wore jeans and a button down shirt. He looked like any normal guy you would see walking down the street.

But there was something about his eyes, that when you looked into them, you could just tell that he was old. You could tell that he had life experience. Adrian's eyes gave his façade away.

He smiled at me, looking at me like I was a long lost family member. "It's nice to see you again, Hailey," he said warmly. "Would you please come in?"

I stepped into the house, looking around as I did. It didn't look nearly as bad as the outside. It looked as if somebody had put a lot of effort into making it look nice. The boys led me down the hallway, into a huge living room, that was a bit of a mess.

There were racks of clothing everywhere. Over in the corner, I saw Bella and Garrett sitting on a couch. I could hear her explaining to him how a TV worked. Joseph was flipping through a rack full of men's clothing, frowning and muttering to himself about how people this century dressed strangely.

"Hailey!" I turned around to face Gemma. Her brown hair was short, and she was wearing jeans, a green top, and black leather boots. The first thing she did when she saw me was pull me into a hug.

I was never much of a hugger. It was strange, because Gemma didn't seem like one either. Still, she hugged me tightly. "Thank you, so much," she whispered. "For bringing Halia back to life. It sounded like you did not have much of a choice, but still, thank you."

Her words softened me a bit and patted her on the back until she let me go. She smiled at me now, and led me towards a rack of women's clothing. "Can you help me pick out clothes? I'm no good at decisions."

It was strange. Everything was strange. From Adrian's warm smile to Gemma's hug. It didn't feel like they forced it all. It felt like it was natural to them. I looked over my shoulder to find Jace talking to Joseph, explaining to him how to wear a tie. He looked like he found everything strange too, but a good kind of strange.

I knew why we both felt odd. Because we had never had a real family, a warm, close family like this. We were only starting to be a family ourselves. But the Eriksons pulled us into their family like we had always been a part of it. And It didn't feel unnatural. It felt right.

Because, really, fairies were family. We were all related, our bloodlines leading to the same family I shared a room with. For the first time in my life, I knew what an actual family felt like.

"Damn, I died too early."

I looked to my right to see Ava, staring at a shirtless Joseph, debating which shirt to wear. I rolled my eyes at her. "You know, for a dead girl, you're a bit too guy obsessed. Especially with guys related to me," I told her.

Gemma frowned at me. "What did you say, Hailey?"

I shook my head. "I'm talking to my friend, Ava. She's a ghost," I explained.

"Oh," Gemma said, understanding. "You see ghosts, then? What happened to your ring?"

"I took it off when I was resurrecting Halia," I said. "I still have it, I'm just gonna leave it off because I can't see Ava if I wear it."

"Seriously Hailey, your ancient fairy relatives are hot pieces of ass," Ava said.

I rolled my eyes. "Ava's a bit obsessed with your brothers," I told Gemma.

Her nose wrinkled. "Gross," she said. "Why?"

"My exact reaction when she told me she'd sleep with my brother if she was still alive." I shook my head.

"Hailey, you're here." Bella walked up to my side. "Can we talk?"

I nodded. "Sure. Lead the way."

"I'm gonna stay here and eye-hump some more sexy fairy goodness, Hails," Ava called as Bella led me out of the living room.

I just rolled my eyes at my horny ghost best friend.

"What did you want to talk about, Bella?" I asked as she led me into an empty room.

"I want to talk about Halia," she said, turning to look at me.

"What about her?" I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against a nearby wall.

"I want to get her away from Niklaus, at least, for now," she said.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Do you think he'll hurt her?" I asked.

Bella shook her head. "Klaus would never, ever hurt Halia on purpose. But I'm not worried that he'll hurt her purposefully, I'm worried that he'll lose his temper and hurt her accidently," she said. "Niklaus is impulsive and has a temper. That is never a good combination."

"Then get her out of there," I said, like it was simple.

"She loves him, Hailey. And he loves her. And nothing I say will ever convince her to leave her. And it's not that I don't want them to be together. It's that I don't want my baby sister to get hurt, emotionally or otherwise." Bella shook her head again. "And what is she going to think once she finds out everything he's done? That he threatened you to get you to help him? She's going to feel so _guilty." _

"One step at a time, Bella," I said. "Just get her out for a while, make sure she's okay. But you can't make that decision to leave Klaus for her. Speaking as somebody with experience, she has to make that decision herself."

Bella sighed but nodded. "You're right. I'm going to get Halia now, and I'll be back in an hour or so."

Bella walked out of the room, dead set on making sure her little sister didn't get killed by the big bad wolf.

_**~EL~**_

Why was the mansion so damn big?

Halia had meant to go to the kitchen to see what kind of food people this century ate, and half an hour later, she was still wandering around the mansion, completely lost. She was debating whether or not to yell for Niklaus, when she accidently wandered into a room, to find an interesting sight.

Coffins. Four coffins.

Halia frowned. Why would Klaus have coffins? But, more importantly, what- or who- were in the coffins?

She took a hesitant step towards the closest one to her, debating whether or not to open it? Did she really want to know who was inside?

A sudden commotion brought her attention away from the coffins. She could hear two people talking quite heatedly, which told Halia she wasn't too far away from the living room. With one last look at the coffins, Halia walked out of the room. But she committed its location to memory.

"Where is Halia?" Bella looked at Klaus distastefully. They used to be friends, Bella and Klaus. She used to think of him as a brother. But then he daggered Elijah and that was all over.

"Around," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I need to see my sister, Niklaus," she said, her voice conveying an authority that she had picked up from Elijah. Then she paused and took a deep breath. "And you need to protect her."

"I'll always protect her," he said without thought, but then his eyebrows furrowed. "What happened, Bella?"

"Hailey didn't just raise Halia," she said slowly. "She raised my other siblings as well, including Adora. That's why you need to protect her."

Pure, burning hatred coursed through Klaus, just by hearing her name. He was brought back to that horrible night a thousand years ago. He had sworn to himself, to Halia, that if he ever saw Adora ever again, he would rip her apart.

And now she was alive again.

"Nothing will happen to Halia, I'll make sure of that," he said quickly, eyes dark with the kind of anger that got people killed.

"Good, I'm holding you to that," she told him seriously. "Now I need my sister."

Klaus paused. He wasn't ready for Halia to learn the truth. As if reading his mind, Bella said, "I'm not going to tell her."

He looked up, surprised. "You're not?"

"No, I'm not. But you will," she said. "Your lies will catch up to you, Niklaus."

"Bella?"

When Bella looked at Halia for the first time in a thousand years, it felt almost too good to be true. Then, almost automatically, she walked towards her baby sister and pulled her into her arms.

Halia hugged her back just as fiercely. They stayed like that for a while, two sisters just hugging. Finally, Bella pulled away, and looked Halia right in the eyes. Her green eyes said it all. _I missed you, little sister. I love you. I am so, so sorry._

"They're alive, Halia," she said suddenly. "Gemma, Joseph, Garrett, and Adrian- they're all alive."

Her eyes widened. "Really?" she breathed. Bells nodded.

"Want to go see them?" she asked.

Halia smiled and nodded enthusiastically. But then she paused and looked over to where Klaus had just been observing silently. She didn't want to leave him alone.

As if reading her thoughts, he said, "Go, Love. I'll be fine," he said.

Halia smiled and kissed him quickly before Bella led her out of the mansion. Klaus sighed as he watched the sisters leave.

He knew that Bella was right- his lies would catch up to him eventually.

_**~EL~**_

I had never, ever met anyone as bubbly and optimistic as Halia Erikson in my entire life.

I seriously had the urge to ask her if the woodland creatures helped her clean her house. She seemed like she was right out of some fairy tale. The first thing she did when she saw me was squeeze me until I couldn't breathe and thank me over and over and over again.

"It's fine, Halia, really," I said, somehow managing to slip out of her hug. She just smiled brightly at me.

The worst part was how hard it was to actually hate Halia. I didn't have it in me to roll my eyes at her, or make fun of her. She was just this pure innocence that could melt the hardest of hearts.

"She's just a Disney movie waiting to happen, isn't she?" Jace muttered as we followed the fairies into the living room.

All of the Erikson siblings were gathered around Halia, looking like they had never been happier. Their family was complete again. They had sweet Halia back. Life was good.

"Now, who forgot to invite me to the family bonding?"

Everyone froze. Then, all at once, we looked up at the doorway to see a smirking blonde, blue eyes full of danger. I hadn't met her once in my life, but I knew exactly who she was.

Adora had decided to crash the party.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: CharlotteAHJones, purpleXorchid, Kara, AudreyDarke96, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)

aHah


	27. a family meeting

**Chapter twenty seven**

**A family meeting**

Before any of the human fairies in the room could blink, Bella and I were both standing in front of Adora, as if physically blocking her from her siblings- from Halia, the innocent little girl who, with just one look into her big brown eyes, made you want to protect her with your life, even if she'd never want that protection.

"Oh, I see there is another Bella. How… unfortunate," Adora said dryly, eying me distastefully. "The last thing this world needs is another buzz kill like my little sister."

Bella's eyes darkened at the insult, but I just rolled mine. "Usually, I'd agree with you about Bella being a buzz kill, but then that might encourage you to stay, and I really just want you to get the hell out," I said snarkily, crossing my arms over my chest.

Adora tsked. "Such rudeness from a girl I do not even know," she said, her cold blue eyes focused on me.

I smirked at her. "My name's Hailey Ellis. I'm a Scorpio, I enjoy long walks on the beach, and my idea of a perfect date involves large amounts of bourbon and not a lot of clothes. Now you know me, so get out before I kick your ass."

"Hailey," Bella chastised me, pushing me gently away from Adora. "What are you doing here, Adora? I would not think you foolish enough to show your face anytime soon."

Adora widened her eyes innocently. "What? You all looked like you having such a fun time, so I decided I would take part in all this fun, warm, family bonding," she said mockingly, eyes lighting up with malice when she looked at Bella.

Adrian walked up to my side, his stare hard and filled with silent anger as he looked at Adora. "Leave, Adora. Now. You have no business here," he said with authority in his voice.

"But don't I, Adrian?" she watched her brother the same way a predator would watch its prey. "And are you sure you wish to challenge me, brother? Because I thought you were one to learn from your mistakes."

Adrian's jaw tensed and I could practically see his death play out in his eyes. I knew it just as well as he did. I had lived it myself. Bella's eyes flashed with anger, and she took a step forward, towards Adora. This time, it was me stopping her from ripping her sister's throat out. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Bella, don't do anything you're gonna regret," I told her in a low voice.

"What are you going to do, sister? Kill me? Again?" Adora taunted.

That was a low blow, and Adora knew it too. I gritted my teeth and raised my hand, whether to slap her or send her flying into a wall, I hadn't decided yet. But before I could, Adora suddenly let out a gasp of pain. Her right arm was red and blistering, like she had been burned.

"Oops, my bad."

Jace smirked as he walked up to Bella's other side, looking very pleased with himself. I couldn't contain my smirk, feeling very proud to call him my brother at that moment. Adora narrowed her eyes at him. "And who the hell are you?" she hissed, her cool, arrogant manner gone.

"Jace Andrews, descendant of Bella," he said nonchalantly, pointing with his thumb to the original fairy, who looked like she was trying to contain her pleasure at Adora's pain.

Before Adora could utter a retort, there was a sigh of boredom, and Gemma pushed past her siblings so that she was face to face with Adora. "As much fun as this has been," she said sarcastically, "Is there a point to you showing up and ruining the moment? Or are you just being your usual obnoxious self, Adora?"

Adora cocked her head to side slightly, and her eyebrows furrowed as she studied her sister. "How's Kol, Gemma?" she asked finally. "Oh, wait. That's right. You wouldn't know, would you?"

Gemma's eyes narrowed. "You little-"

Before Gemma could lunge at Adora, Joseph and Garrett were there, holding her back. That meant that Halia was the only one blocked from Adora's view, and I knew that's how her siblings wanted it to be.

"I don't like this bitch." I was suddenly distracted by Ava, who was sitting cross legged on a table, eyeing Adora suspiciously. "She gives us blondes a bad name."

Before I could respond, Ava was already talking again. "I wonder why she helped her adjust. I thought witches hated fairies."

I frowned. What was Ava talking about? I was about to ask her, when Adora brought my attention back to her. "Fine, do you all really want to know why I'm here?" she asked, sounding very annoyed.

All of her siblings nodded, except for Gemma, who said, "No, I just _really _want you to leave."

Adora ignored her. "Did any of you try out your powers yet?" she asked, looking expectantly at the siblings that I had raised from the dead, along with her.

Adrian shook his head, answering for the group. "No, we have not."

"Well, don't even bother. Because they're gone."

Silence met her words. My eyebrows furrowed. What did she mean? How could the original fairies powers be gone? I met Jace's eyes, and he looked just as confused as me.

Gemma rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips. "What are you talking about, Adora?" she asked, irritated.

"Our powers are _gone, _Gemma," she repeated. "That's why I came here. You don't believe me? Try to conjure water right here and now and you'll see for yourself that I'm right."

Gemma pursed her lips in annoyance, before sighing and taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes in concentration, eyebrows furrowed slightly as she tried to use her power.

Nothing happened.

One by one, I watched the fairies try to use their powers. And, one by one, I watched them fail. Adora was right. Their powers were gone.

The question was- _how _were they gone?

Was it some unforeseen consequence of them coming back from the dead? Somehow, I doubted it. I looked to Bella, thinking that she'd know the answer. Bella always seemed to know all the answers.

She was frowning, in deep thought. I watched her, so I saw the exact moment when her eyes widened and she gasped. She had figured out why her brothers and sisters were without their powers.

"I know why none of you have your powers anymore," she said in a hushed voice, still reeling from her discovery, bringing everyone's attention to her.

"Why, Bella?" Adora asked, looking at her sister curiously.

"Because you were all killed with the same object- the knife that Esther created to take our powers away," she explained.

I instantly knew what knife she was talking about. It was the same knife Victoria was going to use to kill me. It was a magical knife that stole a fairy's power from them when the fairy was stabbed with it.

And I also know where that knife was.

Everyone was in silence. Finally, Halia said, "What are we going to do then?"

This brought Adora's unwanted attention to her. A slow smirk crept onto her lips as she stared at her youngest sister. "There's only one thing we can do," she said, her gaze never leaving Halia. "We have to get the knife so we can get our powers back."

Gemma snorted and rolled her eyes. "Right, Adora," she said sarcastically. "That'll be easy. I mean, it's not like the knife's been lost from us for a thousand years or anything!"

Adora glared at her. "Then what do you suggest we do, Gemma?" she snapped. "It's not like we can be without our powers."

"That's why you came here, isn't it?" Gemma hissed, eyes narrowed into slits. "You wanted our help to get your powers back."

"Well, you lot aren't proving to be much help, are you?"

"Actually," I said, cutting off their fighting. "I know where the knife is."

At the same moment, everyone looked at me. Adora's eyes seemed desperate as she took a step towards me. "You do?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yep."

"Well, where is it then?" she asked, sounding almost fed up with me.

"At a bottom of a very deep lake," I told her, remembering Damon's words to me from a year ago, when I was still human.

Disappointment flooded Adora's face. She was in complete silence, knowing that her only chance of getting her powers back was rusting at the bottom of a lake somewhere.

"Well, looks like you're shit out of luck, Dora," Gemma said, breaking the silence.

Adora glared angrily at her sister. "Don't forget that I'm not the only one who is- for all intents and purposes- _human _right now," she said angrily, saying the word human like it was something that grew in the deepest parts of hell.

"Yeah, well, you're the only crazy, family killing, one here who really, really wants their powers back," Gemma retorted. "And, when you think about it, I suppose it's a good thing that your powers are gone."

"Gemma," Bella sighed. "Stop it, alright?"

Gemma just ignored her. "It's a good thing that your powers are gone, Adora," she repeated. "That way you can't kill another sister because the man you love loves them instead of you."

"Gemma, knock it off," Joseph told her with a sigh.

Adora gave Gemma a twisted smirk. "Yes, but at least the man I love isn't with me because they love someone else. The man you love isn't with you because he grew old of you."

Gemma grew eerily still. "Shut up, Adora," she whispered, eyes full of silent fury. "Don't you dare say another word."

But Adora kept speaking. "Say, Gemma? How did Kol react to your death? Did he even care?" she asked, taking another step towards her sister, so that they were practically nose to nose. "He didn't, did he? Because he stopped caring about you- stopped loving you- years before you died, didn't he?"

"I said stop talking, Adora," Gemma repeated, looking like she was on the verge of snapping. "I swear to God, say another word and I will-"

"Admit it, Gemma. Kol never loved you. He just loved sleeping with you."

"_I said shut up!"_

I suppose it was a good thing that Gemma and Adora didn't have their powers. Or else one of them would've killed the other- hopefully it would've been Gemma killing Adora. Gemma lunged at Adora, but before she could even rip out a chunk of her blonde hair, both were flat against walls across the room from each other.

"I said stop it!" Bella snapped, looking angrily from one sister to the other.

"Oh, shit," Jace whispered, taking a step away from our ancestor. I didn't blame him- Bella was terrifying when she was angry. And right now she was pissed off.

"Grow up, both of you," she continued. "You two are acting like children, and we have important matters to attend to."

"I hate it when they fight."

I looked to my left, expecting to see Halia. But when I saw who was standing next to me, staring longingly at all of the original fairies in the room, I jumped. "What the hell?" I said.

The woman smiled at me. She had a kind smile- it reminded me of Halia's. And she had bright green eyes- Bella's eyes. My eyes.

I instantly knew that I was the only one who could see her, that the woman was a ghost. She wore an old dress, probably from the very early centuries. "Forgive me, Hailey," she said, and I was a little freaked out that she knew my name. "I did not mean to startle you."

"Who are you?" I asked, eyebrows furrowed, ignoring the curious glances Jace was giving me.

She smiled again. "My name is Abigail. Abigail Erikson. And these-" she gestured to the seven original fairies in the room, "-are my children."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **I AM SO SORRY. I seriously should've updated ages ago.

Now, I made a lot of references to Kol/Gemma in this chapter, and I know that a lot of you have been asking about them. Don't worry, they'll be reunited soon enough, you'll just have to be patient. And I have a feeling a lot of you- all of you- won't be very happy with me when they finally do meet again. At least, at first you won't be.

Thank you to: Kara, ravenclawfairy, If-looks-could-kill-453, TVDDamonSLover, NIGHTANGEL21, AudreyDarke96, w.i.t.c.h fan in ut, SomebodyWhoCares, and ADORATIO for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	28. a mother's warning

Chapter twenty eight

**A mother's warning **

My jaw dropped as I stared at Abigail. She just smiled kindly in response, as if she expected me to react this way.

"I know it's a lot to take in, Hailey," she said, "but I'm afraid I must ask something rather big of you."

I frowned. "What could you need from me?" I asked, confused.

"I must speak with my children," she said, eyes staring longingly at them, as Bella continued to keep the peace between Gemma and Adora.

I grew even more confused. "How would that be possible?"

"Hailey," Jace said, bringing my attention to my brother. "Who are you talking to?"

I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Jace."

"Hailey," Abigail said, and I found it hard to keep two conversations with the living and the dead at once. "Please, I need your help. I must speak with my children. They are the reason why I have been stuck on this plane for a thousand years. I must speak with them so I can move on."

The request instantly reminded me of my dad. When we talked, he moved on. And even though I wanted him to stay- for selfish reasons- I knew now that it was best for him to move on. And I knew that Abigail wanted desperately to move on too. And now was her only chance to do so.

I sighed. "What do you need from me?" I asked, resigned. I still had trouble trusting ghosts I was- distantly- related to, ever since the whole Victoria debacle. But Abigail reminded me of Bella, and I trusted Bella.

"Your light," she said simply. "Even though you are dead, parts of your light remain with you. And those parts will allow me to project myself into the land of the living, albeit only for a short period of time."

My frown deepened. The more Abigail talked, the more suspicious I became of her plan.

Sensing my skepticism, Abigail said, "I give you my word, Hailey, no harm will come to you. I am merely borrowing your light, nothing more."

I still wasn't sure, and Abigail let out a sigh. "Please, Hailey," she practically begged. "I must speak to my children one last time. You can trust me. Just give me your hand."

I sighed and ran a hand over my face. Worst case scenario, Abigail stole my "light" from me, and I went into some comatose state. Wouldn't be the first time. At least this time Ava and I could get into some crazy ghost shenanigans together.

So I took a deep breath and then took Abigail's hand in my own.

I gasped loudly as an electric shock ran through my body, then my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I fell backwards onto the floor, knocked out cold.

_**~EL~**_

Bella stopped yelling when she heard Hailey gasp out painfully. She turned around in time to witness her descendant fall to the floor, completely unconscious.

Bella's eyes widened in shock, but then she noticed a figure slowly appear next to Hailey. Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied the figure. Behind her, her siblings had gone silent, staring at the figure in shock.

But when the figure became completely clear, that was when everyone went completely in shock.

Bella stared at the person, her green eyes wider than soccer balls. She covered her mouth with her hand, not able to look away from the person.

"_Mother?"_

Abigail smiled almost sadly at her daughter. "My sweet Bella," she said softly, stepping towards her. Bella's eyes widened even more when her mother brushed some of her dark hair out of her face.

"Are you-?" Bella couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.

Abigail shook her head. "No, I'm not, darling. Hailey is simply letting me… live through her for the next few minutes, so to speak. But I am still very much dead." Then she leaned forward and whispered in her daughter's ear. "I want you to know, Bella, that heard everything you had to tell me. I was always listening to you."

Bella felt her throat grow tight with tears. She had almost forgotten about that, for a thousand years had passed. When she had still been human and her mother had been a vegetable, Bella used to talk to her mother, and tell her every detail of her children's life that she was missing out on.

And to know that her mother had been listening made Bella feel elated, yet made her heart break at the same time.

Abigail gripped her daughter's hand softly as she turned to face the rest of her children, who were each in their own states of shock.

"I don't have much time," Abigail said, addressing all of her sons and daughters. "But you all need to know some things, and I need to say them."

"Is Hailey going to be alright?" Halia spoke up, finally finding her voice.

Abigail smiled at her youngest child. "Yes Little Hallie, she will be fine." She let out a small sigh of regret. "I wish I could have watched you grow up, my child."

Halia bit her lip. Her mother had fallen ill when she had been thirteen, so Abigail had never gotten to see her grow up into a young lady.

"All of you, I know that you have had your differences, and mistakes have been made, but you all have to unite. You have to be a family, my children, if you wish to endure what has yet to come," she said, causing all of them to frown.

"What is to come, mother?" Garrett asked, speaking for the group.

"More danger and wickedness than you could ever imagine, my son," she said gravely. "I wish I could stop it from happening, but it is already too late. You all must prepare yourselves. And you must act as one, you must _be _one. You must be a family, my dear children. _All _of you."

She looked to the back of the group, where Adora had been fidgeting uncomfortably, hoping she wouldn't get noticed by her mother. Abigail took steps towards her eldest daughter, who refused to look her in the eye.

"_Look at me, Adora," _she demanded, a motherly authoritativeness in her voice that caused Adora to flinch. _"Look at me."_

Unwillingly, Adora looked up and met her mother's bright green eyes. "What you have done is unforgivable, Adora," Abigail said, and Adora gritted her teeth, wanting to bite back anything to spite her mother. But she held her tongue and forced herself to listen to what her mother had to say.

"You have spilled familial blood, Adora," she continued, "out of anger and spite, no less. You killed me and your father, and I forgive you."

Adora looked up, eyes wide in surprise. _"What?" _she asked, thinking she had misheard her mother.

"I forgive you, my child," Abigail repeated. "I forgive you for your sins you have made against your parents. A thousand years is too long to hold a grudge."

Adora found it hard to process what her mother was saying. _She forgave her? For killing their family?_

"But what I don't forgive you for, Adora," Abigail added, causing Adora stop in the middle of her thoughts, "is for killing Adrian and Halia. I can never forgive you for killing my children."

Bella looked to the floor uncomfortably. For she had spilled familial blood. She had killed a child of Abigail's. She was just as at fault as Adora.

The only difference was that Bella felt remorse for her actions every day of her life. Adora had never once felt sorry for what she had done.

"Now is your chance for redemption, Adora," Abigail continued. "Help your siblings with what is coming for you all. Put your family before yourself for once. Redeem yourself from your sins, my child."

Adora stared at her mother, her lips pressed into a firm line, and she didn't respond. Then Abigail turned to the rest of her children.

"Gemma," she said. "I know enough of the future that you will unite with Kol once again. Do not let your pride get the best of you this time, my child."

Gemma frowned, feeling slightly embarrassed. But Abigail had already moved on.

"Adrian," she said, turning to her oldest son and child. She felt that her time was running out, and her words fell fast from her mouth. "Do not blame yourself for your foolishness, my boy. You made the right decision in the end. That is all that matters."

"Yes mother," Adrian said with a bow of his head.

"Joseph," Abigail said, facing him. "You need to protect your siblings, son. You need to. Their lives will depend on it."

Joseph frowned at the cryptic message just as their mother turned to Garrett. "Never let your anger get the best of you," she said. "You have no idea how much damage you could cause if you were to lose control, Garrett."

When Abigail reached Halia, she felt herself become light headed and knew she was almost out of time. "Little Hallie," she said with a small smile, "don't be so naïve and believe that Niklaus has not changed over the long years he has been without you. There are many things you have yet to learn. But do not forget what truly matters."

Halia opened her mouth to ask what truly matters, but Abigail was already at Bella. "Sweet Bella," she said, fighting to get her words out before she had to leave. "The past is the past. Our mistakes are something we can never undo, only learn from. You need to let go of the past, my sweet girl, or it will eat you alive if you let it."

Just then, Abigail felt a sudden depletion in energy. Her time was up.

"I'm afraid I must go now, my children," she said with a sigh. "Never forget how much I love all of you."

"Wait, mother-" Gemma tried to say, but it was too late, Abigail was gone.

Silence was all that followed their mother's cryptic warnings and final goodbyes.

_**~EL~**_

I woke up with a groan, stretching as I sat up. When I looked around, the room was dark and empty, save for Bella sitting quietly on a chair in the corner.

"What I'd miss?" I said with a yawn. Abigail was long gone, and all I had left of her borrowing my light was a small headache. I rubbed my head as I stood up.

"A hell of a lot," Ava said, approaching me with a solemn look on her face. "Abigail moved on, Hails. She said her final goodbyes, and then she moved into the light. I saw it happen. Let me tell you, that light could blind a person. They should really fix that."

"She moved on?" I asked quietly, looking to Bella, who looked the way I did after my dad had moved on. It really was like losing a parent all over again.

"Yep," Ava said. "But not before she gave the originals some cryptic warnings about what's ahead. I swear, you'd think she was psychic or something."

"How'd she know anything about the future?" I asked, a little confused. "Abigail was human."

"Like I've said," Ava said, "ghosts are very gossipy, and we spy a lot- there's nothing else to do. It wouldn't be very hard to find out information about the future. I guess that's what she needed to do to move on, get her secret information off of her chest."

"I guess so," I said, not taking my eyes off of Bella. "Do you mind giving us a minute, Aves?"

"No problem," Ava said, suddenly smirking. "Joseph's taking a shower upstairs. Now there's a sight to see."

"Death has turned you into a pervert," I said with a sigh, as Ava went to peep on my ancestor. Then I walked towards Bella.

"Hey," I said, sitting down next to her. "I've heard that I missed quite a bit while I was out."

"I suppose you did," Bella said, not bothering to look at me. "My mother moved into the light, didn't she, Hailey?"

"That's what Ava said." I took a deep breath when Bella's face fell slightly. "Look, I've been through this before, Bella. I know what it's like to be reunited with a parent, only to have that parent leave you again. It sucks, I know, but it gets better. Eventually."

Bella sighed. "She's in a better place, isn't she?" she asked quietly, hopefully.

"That's what all the cheesy clichés say," I answered. "All I know is that she's found peace. She's finally free. And I guess that does mean she's in a better place."

"Good, I'm glad," Bella said, finally looking a little bit like her old self. "But I'm afraid you did miss some major turn of events while you were passed out, Hailey."

"And what would that be?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My siblings and I are reuniting with Adora, to get their powers back and defend ourselves against whatever is coming for us, just like what my mother wanted."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: ravenclawfairy, witchlouise, Kara, purpleXorchid, NIGHTANGEL21, w.i.t.c.h fan in ut, If-Looks-Could-Kill-453, AudreyDarke96, and lunarwitch16 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	29. Forgetting

**Chapter twenty nine**

_Forgetting _

Halia was a terrible liar.

She couldn't lie to save her life- she was just no good at it. And because she knew she and everyone around her knew she couldn't lie, she always just told the truth. It was much easier that way. It didn't waste time or cause unnecessary drama. Telling the truth had always been what Halia chose to do.

But, then again, Halia had never really come across a situation where lying was the best option. Then Adora came back to life, complicating everything even more.

As Halia walked into Niklaus' home, she debated with herself just exactly what she would reveal to Niklaus. Out of everyone she knew and loved and was close to, Klaus the one person- possibly excluding Bella- who not only knew when Halia was lying, but when she was keeping something from him or not revealing everything she knew. Klaus had always seen through her like a window, and no amount of centuries had changed that.

But telling Niklaus that, not only was Adora alive again but that she was being welcomed back into the family with opened arms, could be very, very dangerous.

"Niklaus?" she called, shrugging off her jacket as she looked around for any sign of him. She started into the hallway, but knew better than to go looking for him on her own. Halia had no sense of direction, and she had already gotten lost in the huge mansion-like house more times than she was proud to admit.

"In here, love."

Halia followed the sound of Klaus' voice to find him in one of the five living rooms that was in the mansion. He had a glass of whiskey in one hand, a pencil in the other, and a sketchpad balanced in his lap.

Halia smiled slightly to herself as she sat down beside him, her dark curls bouncing slightly as she did. Her thousand years as a ghost had blurred together, and, truthfully, Halia remembered very little of her time being dead. But what she did remember- what she would always remember- was the loneliness, and the regret of the things she had never done, and even of some of the things she had done.

But mostly, she missed the people she left behind. She missed her family. She missed her friends. She missed the nieces and nephews that she had never gotten to meet. But most of her time and energy was spent missing Niklaus. And now she had him back, for good this time.

"How was the family reunion?" Klaus asked as she made herself comfortable at his side. His eyes were still on the half-finished drawing he was working on. He had always found it hard, drawing Halia's eyes. Either they were too big or too almond shaped. It was a balance Klaus had yet to perfect.

Halia sighed internally. "Good, it was good," she said, looking down at the floor boards.

Klaus frowned, noticing Halia's drastic change in emotion. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. "What happened, Halia?" he asked her.

She shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes. "Nothing," she said quickly, her voice going up an octave. "Nothing happened. I just saw my family again, that's all. That was fun, I really-"

"Halia," he cut her off. "You're a terrible liar."

Halia sighed and ran a hand over her face. "You're going to be upset," she muttered quietly. Upset was an understatement, though. If Halia knew Niklaus- which she did- he was going to be furious. He had always had a temper, and she could only imagine what it was like now, heightened because he was a vampire. More than likely, heads would roll. And it would be Adora's head.

Klaus frowned at her. "What did you do, Halia?"

Halia shook her head quickly. "Nothing, I did nothing Niklaus."

"Then what is this about?" He pressed, becoming more suspicious as the conversation continued.

Halia took a deep breath. "Promise me," she said softly, and Klaus' frown deepened.

"Promise you what?" he asked.

"Promise me that you won't act impulsively, once you hear what I am about to tell you," she clarified. Klaus sighed.

"I promise," he told her, not sure if he would be able to keep that promise.

Halia took another deep breath to calm herself. Then she uttered the three words she expected would turn Niklaus mad with anger.

"Adora is alive."

Seconds passed with no real effect on Klaus. Halia frowned and looked up at him. He looked awkwardly away from her, and her eyes widened as she realized something.

"You already knew didn't you?"

Klaus sighed, but nodded. "Yes, I did."

"How?" Halia asked, imagining Adora coming over and having a nice chat with Niklaus. Just as Halia flushed with jealousy, she realized that Adora was smarter than that. She knew better than to go within a hundred feet of Klaus. Her heart would be removed from her chest the second they met again.

"Bella told me," he admitted.

Halia's eyes narrowed in anger. "And you two just _forgot _to inform me of this?" she asked sarcastically.

"We figured it would be best to let you settle in this century before we told you about Adora," Klaus told her. "But Bella obviously saw things differently," he added somewhat bitterly.

She shook her head angrily. "Why do you two think me too weak to handle the news of Adora's resurrection?" she asked. "I mean, I saw her today and I would say that I handled myself very well."

Klaus' head snapped up at the bit of information Halia accidently let out. _"What?"_

She bit her lip. "Bella… didn't tell me Adora was back," she said slowly. "I figured it out for myself when I saw her out walking about today."

_**~EL~**_

"_Hello?"_

"What is wrong with you, Bella?" Klaus snarled, pacing the living room angrily as Halia sat quietly on the couch, staring down at her knees.

He heard Bella sigh on the other line. _"I take it Halia told you everything?" _she said.

"You told me to protect her. I must admit, you are making my job very difficult, teaming her up with the one thing she needs protection from," he said dryly.

"_You don't understand, Niklaus," _Bella said. _"This is what my mother wanted. And she wouldn't have wanted this if she thought Halia was in any real danger."_

"I don't care what Abigail wanted," he growled. "If you think Adora has changed even slightly, you're fooling yourself. We turn our backs around for one minute, and she will do exactly what she did a thousand years ago."

"_And then you will spend another millennium slaughtering innocent fairies to get Halia back again," _Bella finished venomously.

Klaus' eyes flickered to Halia and back, praying that she hadn't heard her sister.

"_Do you honestly think I am stupid enough to think Adora is changed?" _Bella continued. _"No, I don't think she has. But what my mother wants is to give her the chance to change. And during that time, I will personally insure that Adora isn't alone in a room with any of my siblings, especially Halia and Adrian."_

Klaus frowned, but Bella wasn't finished yet. _"And really, Niklaus," _she said. _"I would be more concerned with how exactly you're going to tell Halia what you've been doing the past thousand years than with how I take care of my family. Tell Halia I will see her tomorrow."_

Then, with a click, Bella hung up on him.

Halia and Klaus stood in silence, neither looking at each other. Minutes passed until Halia finally spoke.

"I don't need you to protect me, Niklaus," she said softly, looking up at him. "I'm very capable of protecting myself."

Klaus looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "May I remind you of the last time I didn't protect you?" he retorted.

Halia frowned. "Well, that's not-"

Klaus cut her off. "And you don't have any powers to protect yourself with. So, yes, Halia. You _do _need me to protect you."

Halia crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "You need to calm down, Niklaus," she said, noticing his gritted teeth, the anger in his eyes, his muscles tensed. He was about to snap, she could sense it.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at her. "How are you not angrier?" he asked her. "Adora is back, yet you don't act like you're upset at all."

"Because I'm not, not really," she said with a slight shake of her head.

Klaus looked at her in confusion. "Why?" he asked, frustrated with her.

"Because you're angry enough for the both of us."

Klaus sighed as Halia approached him. It was stupid, knowing that he was so angry. But Halia had always made reckless decision, especially when it came to Niklaus. She placed her hands on his chest, and the physical contact soothed Klaus slightly.

"Forget of Adora," she told him. "None of us are going to be as naïve as last time. History will not repeat itself. I promise you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, knowing that she was succeeding in calming him down. Then Halia stretched up on the tip of her toes and kissed him.

Klaus' hands went to Halia's hair, his fingers entangling in her locks as he kissed her back. He had almost forgotten what it was like to kiss her, really kiss her. And that would have been a shame in itself.

Halia gasped against Klaus' lips as he blurred them over to the couch. She wasn't used to vampire speed just yet. But then her thoughts were brought back to Klaus as one of his hands slipped under her shirt, inching towards the bra she wore.

She knew where Klaus' mind was, and where their kissing was heading. But Halia didn't stop him, didn't say anything. She just helped him take off her shirt and brought his lips back to hers as quickly as possible.

As Klaus kissed Halia's neck, the smell of her blood hit him. It was undoubtedly the best smelling blood he had ever encountered. When he pulled away from her neck, Halia seemed to notice the darkening of his eyes as he looked down at her. She also seemed to realize that it wasn't entirely due to lust.

After a second of thinking, Halia nodded. Klaus raised an eyebrow, wondering- hoping- that she was agreeing to what he thought she was agreeing to.

When she nodded again and craned her neck to the right, he knew exactly what she wanted him to do.

As Klaus bit into Halia's neck, the first few seconds of pain were excruciating. But Klaus was nowhere near as violent as he usually was, and the pain quickly turned to pleasure.

When Klaus pulled away from her neck, his lips were covered in her blood. Halia was breathing heavily as he wiped his lips on the back of his hand, and then kissed her heatedly again.

Then clothes continued to be torn off as the two completely forgot about Adora.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **This chapter was completely Klalia, and the next episode probably will be too. They're going to play a big part in the plot the next couple of chapters.

Thank you to: Kara, TVDDamonSLover, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	30. Marking Territory

**Chapter thirty**

_Marking Territory_

When Halia woke up the next morning, the only thing covering her body was a white sheet wrapped around her. Klaus' arm was draped across her stomach, as if he had been holding her before they had fallen asleep. Her head had been nestled into his shoulder, but she sat up and stretched her rather sore muscles.

Niklaus was still asleep, and Halia slightly smiled down at him. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping, but Niklaus hadn't been innocent even when he was human. Halia then carefully slipped out of his grasp, trying her best not to wake him. She stood up, and quickly ditched the plain white sheet for the shirt Klaus had been wearing the night before. It was very big on her, and went down almost to her knees.

As soon as she had finished buttoning up the shirt, Halia pushed her messy hair out of her face. Her eyes wandered around Niklaus' room, and she decided there would be no harm in looking around while she waited for him to wake up.

Halia's fingers gently pushed through the pile of papers on Klaus' desk. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, just hints of what he had been up to the past thousand years. She paused when she found a pile of drawing, the paper ranging from old, yellowed, and slightly torn to pristinely white and new. She frowned when she realized that it was her face she was staring down at.

The drawings varied from full body pictures to just her face to even her eyes. She recognized the wide, round pair of eyes that took up an entire piece of paper and had the tendency to make it look like she was always surprised. She was very gentle with the drawings, for she did not want to ruin any of them.

"I found that, over the years, if I constantly drew you over and over again, I'd be less likely to forget what you look like. Because, if I ever did, that would just be a real shame."

Halia jumped at the sound of Klaus' voice. She hadn't realized he had been up. Her cheeks flushed with red at being caught snooping, but Klaus didn't look angry with her. On the contrary, he was smiling slightly, genuinely happy. Waking up to the sight of Halia wearing nothing but his shirt had been the most beautiful sight he had seen in centuries.

His arms wrapped around her waist, bringing his chest against her back. Halia relaxed instantly in his arms, experiencing complete euphoria in that moment. Klaus placed one kiss on Halia's bare shoulder, his fingers brushing her hair away from her neck so that he could see what he had done to her last night. Dried blood still stained her skin, and there was a rather obvious bite mark hidden underneath the blood.

Klaus knew he could've healed it, but decided not to. He'd leave the mark as a warning to other vampires- God knew that the town was flooded with them.

The warning would be that Halia was his and his alone. And anyone who dared touch her would have their hearts ripped out by him. Halia needn't know how possessive the bite mark was meant to be, how possessive Klaus was.

All she needed to know was that now that Klaus had her back, he'd never let her get taken away again.

_**~EL~**_

Bella's nerves were running on high, and it wasn't until three in the morning until she finally left the abandoned house her siblings called home now. Adrian had practically forced her out the door, to return to Elijah. She hadn't want to leave, she wanted to stay and make sure everyone would make it through their first night in the 21st century.

But everyone was in agreement that Bella needed a break, and Hailey had agreed to stay the night and hold down the fort. Eventually, Bella reluctantly agreed to leave, knowing that she did trust Hailey with her siblings' lives.

Still, even when she walked into the rather sizeable house she and Elijah had upgraded to, she still couldn't relax. Her mind was reeling with everything that had happened that day. With the discovery that her siblings had no powers and Adora's return, her mother's final words, and then agreeing to team up with Adora. There was no way she would be able to sleep.

Something wicked was coming, at least according to Abigail. It was dangerous and evil and the Erikson siblings- _all _of the Erikson siblings- would have to unite if they wished to stand a chance. And Bella wish she knew what it was, so that she could prepare. But she had no idea.

Her mind kept returning to her mother's last words to her. They kept replaying over and over in her head. _"The past is the past. Our mistakes are something we can never undo, only learn from. You need to let go of the past, my sweet girl, or it will eat you alive if you let it."_

There were so many things Abigail could have been referring to, so many mistakes Bella had made. Of course there was killing Adora, but then there was also The Dark Period. Bella never liked to think about that period in her life, let alone talk about it. It was the darkest part of Bella's life, and she knew for a fact she never would have come out of it if Elijah hadn't refused to give up on her.

Bella shuddered slightly. The Dark Period was something she so desperately wanted to forget. But she was so afraid that if she forgot about it, it would happen again.

"You do more harm than good just sitting around and worrying, Bella."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair as Elijah approached her. He was right, of course. But Bella couldn't help it. She was a worrier. It was in her nature to worry from small, irrelevant problems all the way to huge, life changing dilemmas.

"I'm just trying to think of a way to get out of this mess," she said, as Elijah sat down next to her at the round wooden table in the living room. His hand rested on her knee, a completely unconscious gesture, brought enough peace to Bella that she manage to shut her brain up.

"You will," Elijah said simply. "Because if I've learned anything the past thousand years, it is that whenever you set your mind on something, you always get it, eventually."

Bella smiled slightly, and it amazed her that Elijah still had the uncanny ability to make her blush, to make her feel like she was just a girl who had a crush on a man so far out of her league, he wasn't even in the same galaxy. One would think she would've grown comfortable with his compliments and that he wouldn't reduce her to nothing more than a pile of mush by now, but that hadn't happened. Elijah preferred it, though. He knew that the day Bella accepted his compliments like a normal person, that that would be a sad day.

Bella placed her hand on the one of Elijah's that was resting on her knee. Their fingers intertwined and Bella sighed, allowing her head to roll to the left and rest on his shoulder.

"Do you think I made a mistake, agreeing to let Adora anywhere near the others?" she asked after a few minutes of comfortable, soothing silence.

"Yes," Elijah said honestly. "I do. But it was a mistake you had to make."

Bella wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that, but she knew Elijah- better than anyone, maybe even himself- and knew that she didn't necessarily need to know what everything he said meant, as long as he did. They were counterparts, after all. A team.

"And what are we going to do about Halia and Niklaus?" she sighed again. The stress of the current situation was weighing down on her shoulders heavily.

"I think you'll find that that situation will resolve itself, Bella," Elijah told her. "Niklaus won't be able to hide anything from her for very wrong."

Bella closed her eyes, suddenly feeling very exhausted. As if sensing this, Elijah said, "You should get some sleep, Bella."

She shook her head, but Elijah had already stood up and swept her up into his arms. He placed a kiss on her forehead as he walked her towards their bedroom, and Bella was asleep by the time Elijah tucked her into bed.

_**~EL~**_

I had agreed to spend the night at Fairy Manor, if anything just to get Bella to get some rest. I could easily tell that this entire situation was aging her by centuries. I didn't really understand why there needed to be a guard on duty, but I assumed that there should be, in case Adora decided to strike.

Despite the truce currently going on between the original siblings, Bella made it very clear that Adora wouldn't be staying at Fairy Manor. She didn't trust her sister one minute, and I was glad. It proved she wasn't as stupid as I thought her to be for agreeing to have a truce with Adora in the first place.

I woke up passed out on the couch around eight in the morning, and I knew that if Bella caught me sleeping on the job I'd never hear the end of it. I stood up and stretched, before going into the kitchen to get some coffee. My back was aching from the uncomfortable couch, and I suddenly missed my and Damon's bed. I could already sense that I wouldn't be seeing much of him anytime soon. It didn't make any sense, but I missed him just at the thought.

"Bella, there you are-" Halia walked into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of me. I ran a hand through my messy bed hair as I took in the youngest original fairy.

She had spent last night with Klaus, I knew that. I had a feeling I knew exactly what they had been up to. My nose wrinkled at the thought.

Halia's hair was messy and tangled, completely hiding her neck. Her clothes were wrinkled, and there was this satisfied spark in her brown eyes, one I knew could only come from a great night in bed. Plus, she practically smelled like sex.

"Oh, you're Hailey." She frowned at me. "You really do look exactly like my sister."

I smirked at her. "Yeah, but I'm hotter," I said, taking a sip of my coffee.

Halia laughed, and just then her hair fell away from neck. My eyes widened at the sight of dark bite mark on her neck.

"Looks like you and Klaus got kinky last night," I said, gesturing to her neck.

When Halia realized what I was referring to, she turned a bright shade of crimson. She quickly hid her neck with her hair again, as if that would make me forget what I saw.

"Looks like somebody's marking their territory," I noted as I finished my coffee and went to refill my mug.

Halia frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever vampires have human mates, they leave bite marks marking them as theirs, so that other vampires know not to go anywhere near that human, or else they'll pay with their life," I explained. "When I was still human, Damon would mark me. It's really possessive, but kind of hot too."

"And Damon is your mate?" Halia said, and I nodded.

"Yep," I said.

"Did he turn you?" she asked.

I bit my lip. "How I turned is a really complicated story," I said. "But no, it wasn't Damon."

"How long have you been a vampire?" she asked me.

"About a year or so, give or take." Then I gestured to her neck again. "Don't let Bella see that; you'll never hear the end of it."

Halia made a face. "And I don't I know it," she muttered, before frowning. "Where is my sister?"

"We sent her home," I said. "Elijah's got her."

Halia nodded, then she bit her lip. "I just want to say- thank you, Hailey. For bringing my family back. For bringing me back."

"Don't mention it," I said with a shrug.

"But really, why did you do it? For Bella?" Halia asked.

I paused. I was tempted to answer 'because your hybrid boy toy threatened the man I love.' But Bella had made me promise earlier that I wouldn't go spilling the beans to Halia about Klaus. She was giving Klaus the opportunity to do it first. If only I could be as honorable as her.

"I think that that's a conversation you'd want to have with Klaus, Halia," I told her finally, putting my coffee mug in the sink.

She frowned at me. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I think that there are a lot of conversations you need to have with him," I added. "And I'd have those soon."

Then I left the kitchen and went to go check on the rest of the original fairies that were currently in my charge.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **So did anyone catch the mention of Bella having a dark period in chapter 21? The Belijah scene was really just a set up for the next chapter, where we'll get into her dark period, and because I have a lot of Belijah feels.

I seriously have so much background information that'd I'd never be able to fit into the story. I'm one of those people that love to come up with background information, so I have a lot on what Belijah's been doing the past thousand years.

After Eternal Love, I'm considering doing a story pretty much dedicated to Belijah and what they've been doing in between True Love Never Dies and Eternal Love, just to get the ideas out of my head. But would anybody read it? I promise there would be a somewhat plot- I'm currently developing it.

Thank you to: AZTHEBEST1, Guest, arizonagirl181, SomebodyWhoCares, and SemiraBlake for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	31. The Truth

**Chapter thirty one**

_The Truth_

"Wakey wakey," I called as I walked into Gemma's room without knocking.

She was already awake, though. She was still in her pajamas and standing over a box that was on her bed. I recognized it as the box of Gemma's belongings Bella hadn't been able to get rid of. Each of the original siblings had a box, except for Adora. Keeping Adora's things would have been too painful for Bella.

In Gemma's hand was a necklace. It was a simple necklace, even a little boyish looking. It was just a chain with a piece of knotted up brown leather hanging from it. She was frowning at it, giving it a look that was either anger, sadness, or heartache. I couldn't tell.

At the sound of my voice, Gemma jumped and hid the necklace in her fist. I frowned at her and walked towards her. "What's that?" I asked, gesturing towards her fist.

"Nothing," Gemma said quickly, too quickly.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I literally watched you hold a necklace in your hands two seconds ago. You're going to try and deny that?"

She sighed and let the necklace fall through her fingers. "It's nothing, Hailey, really," she said, looking towards the box as if she planned to drop it in there, but her feet didn't budge.

"Really? Because it doesn't look like nothing."

Gemma bit her lip. "It's just a stupid necklace from a thousand years ago," she spat, practically throwing the old necklace into the box. "It means nothing to me."

I raised both eyebrows this time. "If you're not the poster child for repressed emotions, then I don't know who is," I replied.

Gemma glared at me and crossed her arms over her chest. I remembered what both Bella and Adora had said about Gemma in the 11th century.

"_My older sister, Gemma, fell in love with Elijah's younger brother, Kol. It was almost ironic. Those two spent the better part of their lives at each other's throats. Then, all of a sudden, their hate turned into love."_

_"Say, Gemma? How did Kol react to your death? Did he even care? He didn't, did he? Because he stopped caring about you- stopped loving you- years before you died, didn't he?"_

"There was a guy, wasn't there?" I said, frowning. "What was his name? Kol? Mikaelson?" I raised my eyebrows. "You were in love with Elijah's brother a thousand years ago, an original vampire."

She sighed. "It was a long time ago, Hailey," she said quietly. "A lot of things have changed."

"Was that his?" I asked, gesturing to the necklace.

Gemma nodded slowly. "It was the only thing he ever gave me," she said. Then, reluctantly, she added, "He used to call me 'the future Missus Kol Mikaelson' all the time. And one day he took it off and then put it around my head, and told me to keep it, that it would be our promise ring. So that every time some villager looked at me, they'd see the necklace and know that I was his-"

Gemma stopped suddenly and closed her eyes. I could hear her heart thudding in her chest and I sighed. If I was the hugging type, I would've hugged Gemma. But I wasn't, and I knew that Gemma wasn't either.

She opened her eyes again and they were hard. "It doesn't matter, though," she said. "It was a long time ago, too long ago too matter. Besides, Kol's probably off somewhere having a giant orgy with a bunch of girls."

I frowned. Gemma didn't know. Bella hadn't told her.

It probably wasn't my place, and Bella was probably waiting for the right time to tell her. But I knew that Gemma was just putting up a strong front. I knew that the idea of Kol not giving a shit that she was back hurt her. And I thought that maybe knowing the truth would make her feel better.

"Gemma," I said slowly, causing her to look up at me. "Kol's not off having any orgies."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "And how would you know?"

"Because he's in a coffin."

Gemma's face went stark white. I could hear her gasp. _"What?" _she said, the single word full of so much shock and pain, it was hard to believe that Gemma had left her feelings for Kol in the 1th century.

"Klaus daggered all of his siblings," I explained. "Including Kol. The only reason Elijah is undaggered is because he used him to distract Bella."

Gemma frowned. "What do you mean? 'Daggered'?" Some of the color had returned to her face, but she still looked pale.

"For all intents and purposes, Kol is dead," I said. "But if you were to take the dagger out of his chest, he'd be alive again."

Gemma nodded slightly and took a deep breath. Her gaze shifted to the floor, and I could hear her racing heart start to slow down.

"Oh" was all she said. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw her grab Kol's necklace and tie it around her neck.

_**~EL~**_

Halia was frowning as she walked back into the mansion. Niklaus was hiding something from her, everyone was. She hated when there were secrets, especially ones she didn't know. She hated being lied to, being kept out of the loop, _especially _when people did it "for her own good".

And it didn't matter how great and wonderful last night had been. It didn't matter that the scar on the left side of her neck marked her as his. It didn't matter that she loved him so terribly much. He wasn't being honest with her.

She knew that Niklaus had changed. Not necessarily by the way he acted- for, sometimes, Halia could swear that he acted the same way he had a thousand years ago- but by the way people acted whenever he was brought up. Bella's eyes always hardened whenever she tried to talk about him, and she'd just change the subject. And Hailey had grown very tense.

She didn't want to think that her Niklaus was gone, replaced by someone his family resented and feared and disliked. But she wanted answers about what exactly had gone on the past thousand years.

She wanted the truth.

But when Halia climbed up the stairs, took several turns, and eventually came to a stop in front of Niklaus' bedroom- _their _bedroom, she supposed- and saw him sitting on _their _bed, shirtless, frowning as he quickly sketched something in that precious sketch pad of his, her heart melted. She was sure that this Niklaus had done nothing wrong. She was sure that _her _Niklaus was still the same.

He had to be.

Hello, love," Niklaus said smoothly as Halia took slow steps into the room. Seeing him look so at peace had made her forget exactly what she had come home to do. And, she had to admit, his lack of shirt might have also been a part of it.

Halia took a deep breath, trying to focus on what she came to do. She didn't come to ogle Niklaus, she came to demand answers out of him. But now that she was faced with that task, she was finding it hard to figure out where to start.

"We need to talk," Halia said, trying to steel herself for what was to come. But it was so hard to focus with Klaus' chest just a foot away from her. She took another deep breath. "But I think you should put a shirt on for it."

Klaus smirked slightly, but was confused and a little worried as to what she wanted to talk about. Was she finally figuring it all out? He wasn't ready for that conversation. He didn't know how to put everything he did in a good light, that wasn't completely lying to her. The only way Klaus could justify his actions was to say that he did it all for her. It was true, though. Everything he had done the past thousand years was to return Halia to him.

Still, Klaus stood up and pulled a random shirt on. Then he turned back to Halia, who looked relieved that his chest wouldn't be so distracting anymore. "Now Love, what did you want to talk about?"

Halia crossed her arms over her chest, and stared up at him with those big doe eyes of her. She had the kind of eyes that made you want to do anything for her. Just one look, and Halia could bend even the most stubborn man's will. Of course, she would never do such a dastardly thing.

"I _need _to know _exactly _what you did during the thousand years we were apart, Niklaus," she all but pleaded.

That was exactly what Klaus had been afraid of.

_**~EL~**_

I left Gemma alone to her thoughts and really old necklace, and walked back downstairs. Halia was long gone, and I had a feeling I knew where she ran off to. Jace was in the kitchen though, rubbing his eyes and muttering nonsense to himself as he made coffee. It was clear that he had just woken up.

"I didn't know you slept here last night," I said as I walked into the kitchen and hopped up on the counter.

"I passed out on Garrett's floor," he replied, half of his sentence drowned out by a yawn. My brother ran a hand through his already wild hair before continuing. "I was up until four in the morning trying to teach him and Joseph how to use a computer."

He frowned at me as he took a sip of his coffee. "You didn't notice? We were making a lot of noise," he added.

I snorted. "Please, I was asleep on the couch like five minutes after Bella left," I said.

He gave me a look. "You're the worst vampire fairy bodyguard out there," he told me.

"Since there are only two in existence, I'd say I'm the second best vampire fairy bodyguard ever," I replied cheekily.

"Or the first worst," Jace retorted.

I glared and made to kick him. He dodged me though, and laughed. Just as I stood up to kick his ass, a cool voice interrupted us.

"Aren't you two just adorable?"

Adora smirked as she walked into the room. But her eyes were hard and her smile was malicious. I tensed and I felt Jace stiffen next to me.

"Well, I'd say we do have a certain level of cuteness to us," Jace muttered in reply, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Where's Bella?" Adora asked, looking at me as if she knew I knew the answer.

"With Elijah," I replied. "At whatever house they're occupying." Then I frowned and added, "but she should be here any minute now."

I didn't want Adora to think that since Bella was gone, she could go murder everyone in the house. I doubted Bella was even awake, But I didn't want the crazy bitch to know that.

Adora raised an eyebrow at me, as if she knew I was lying. "I suppose I can wait in the living room until she returns," she murmured, sighing impatiently. "We really should get a move on if we want to get our powers back."

"Actually, I want to talk to you," I said, raising my chin almost challengingly. "If that's not a problem," I added as an afterthought.

Adora raised an eyebrow at me again. "No, I don't suppose it would be," she said slowly, her eyes threatening to cut me down. I was intimidated though.

"Hailey," Jace said in a low voice, looking at me warningly. I just winked at my brother as I followed Adora out of the kitchen.

"Now, Hailey," Adora said as she led me into the living room. "What exactly do you have to say to me?"

"You see, Adora," I said, starting to pace as I examined the room that was slowly in the process of being decorated. I could tell that the originals were trying to make the house feel like home as much as possible, but it was a slow process.

"Bella is agreeing to work with you because of everything Abigail has to say. She's putting aside her anger and letting you near her family after everything you've done. She trustsyou without any violence or threats of any kind. The thing is, though," I said, as I turned to face her, suddenly growing very serious. "I'm not Bella, not even close. And I live for violence and threats."

Adora rolled her eyes at me, unimpressed. I ignored her, though. "If you hurt _any _of them again," I said in a low voice. "I will rip you apart, limb by limb. And, since I'm not Bella, I'll feel no guilt doing it. In fact, I'll _revel _in it, because, let's be honest here, I don't like you."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "How dare you," she said, taking slow steps towards me. "Where did you find the audacity to threaten me? Have you no idea what I'm capable of?"

"On the contrary, Dora," I replied, smirking at her. "I have every idea of what you're capable of. The funny thing is, though, that you have no idea what _I'm _capable of."

Adora gritted her teeth. "Just because my sister, for some reason, has a soft spot for you, doesn't mean I won't end your pitiful little life," she snarled.

"Obviously," I replied. "I mean, if you can kill your family, who _can't _you kill?"

Adora probably would have tried to kill me right then and there if there hadn't been a knock on the front door.

"Hailey? You there?"

I relaxed at the sound of Damon's voice and smiled slightly, despite the fact that I had been threatening Adora seconds earlier. "Coming, Damon," I called, knowing he could hear me perfectly.

Adora followed me as I went to open the front door for Damon. She got a glimpse of him from a window, and I could practically hear her purr. "He looks absolutely delicious," she murmured to herself, a slow smirk appearing on her lips.

I turned around and glared at her. "Try anything and I'll rip your throat out," I growled, before brushing past her and walking towards the door.

I opened the door, but before Damon could even say anything, I walked outside and slammed the door behind me. The I smiled up at him and stretched on my toes to kiss him.

"I missed you," I breathed as I pulled away.

Damon quirked an eyebrow at me. "You saw me less than twenty four hours ago," he reminded me.

"How could I forget?" I said with a smirk, remembering the great sex we had had. "We should to an encore after you take me out to get some pancakes."

"And why am I taking you out to get pancakes?" Damon asked as I grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the car.

"Because I have a lot to catch you up on," I said. It was true; he had missed a lot. "And I want pancakes."

_**~EL~**_

Klaus sighed and ran a hand over his face. Halia's stomach sank at his reaction, because, at that moment, she knew she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Halia…" he looked up at her. "I love you, Sweetheart. Don't forget that."

She bit her lip. What did he do?

"Just tell me, Niklaus," she whispered, not really wanting to know the answer anymore.

"Where would you like me to start?" Both of their voices had lost all emotion, and were hollow. And to think that a few hours ago, neither of them had ever been happier.

Halia looked at her shoes. "How did you manage to convince Hailey to resurrect me?" she asked after a few seconds of silence.

Klaus took a deep breath. He knew that once Halia learned the truth, nothing would be the same.

"I threatened to kill her boyfriend, Damon."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **So the shit hits the fan with Klalia. At least I had them have sex first.

I'd just like to say how much I like writing Adora and Hailey. It's really fun. Because both of them see through the other. They point out each other's insecurities, threaten each other, etc. They're an even match for each other, and I love writing them. Almost as much as I love writing Bella and Hailey.

I gave everyone who was demanding Dailey a bit of Dailey too. There will be more of them next chapter too.

Oh, and you got some Kemma teases because I had some Kol feels today.

Thank you to: ravenclawfairy, purpleXorchid, NIGHTANGEL21, TVDDamonSLover, SemiraBlake, LeahLovesJacob, AZTHEBEST1, KandyKorn4bv, Kara, and SomebodyWhoCares for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	32. Attack Dog

**Chapter thirty two**

_Attack Dog_

"So where'd you put your ring? Is it just gone forever?"

I shrugged as I took a bite of pancake. "I'm not sure," I said. "But I don't really care. I'm not gonna wear it anyway, I don't want Ava to be alone again."

"And you haven't had any weird ghostly side effects, like last time?" Damon asked.

I shook my head. "No, not really. I think Ava keeps the other ghosts away from me."

"And why do you need to know where the knife is again?" he continued, taking a bite of bacon.

"Because it has all of the fairies' powers in it, which means I'm going to have to fish it out of the lake, so that they can get their powers back." I sighed at the thought.

"What are you going to do about Adora?" Damon asked, as I rested my feet on his side of the booth.

"Bella's allowing her to be a part of Team Awesome 2.0, because their mom possessed me and told them that a greater evil was going to try to kill them all, and they have to work together to save themselves," I explained. "I also think she feels guilty, because she killed Adora the first time. She doesn't want to do it again."

"Huh," he said with a raised eyebrow. "And what did _you _do about Adora?"

I smirked at him. "I threatened to kill her if she tried to kill the originals again."

"That's my girl."

I laughed slightly, before sobering and looking up at Damon. "I think, after this is all over, we should go to some island where no one can find us and just stay there for the next few centuries," I said thoughtfully.

"Make up for all the sex we haven't been able to have?" Damon asked with a raised eyebrow. I smirked and nodded.

"I like that idea."

My smirk widened as I stretched across the table to kiss Damon. My lips just grazed his before we were interrupted.

"Hailey! Oh my God, Hailey!"

I groaned and pulled away from Damon. "What?" I slightly growled at Ava, who was sitting next to me in the booth.

"Sorry that I'm interrupting," she said. "But this is _huge."_

I frowned at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Are you talking to Ava?" Damon asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

I looked at him. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. Sometimes I forget that I'm the only one who can see and hear her."

"Hailey!" Ava whined. "Back to me."

I sighed. Ghosts were so needy and demanding.

"What, Aves?" I asked, starting to grow impatient. She was cutting into my Damon time.

"The whole ghost world is buzzing," she told me, excitement lighting up her face. "There was a prophecy made about three days ago."

"A prophecy?" I asked, frowning. I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but I knew it was something like one of my visions. Then my eyes widened. "Wait, three days ago? As in-"

"As in there was a prophecy made by a prophet the same time you resurrected your dead fairy ancestors," Ava finished. "Coincidence or not?"

"Probably not," I said with a sigh.

"What? What about a prophecy?" Damon whined.

I sighed. They were like needy children. "I'll fill you in after, promise," I told him, before turning back to Ava.

"Do you know what the prophecy was?" I asked her.

She shook he head. "No, but I heard through a werewolf that hangs around elementary schools that it had something to do with the originals."

I frowned at her. "First of all, you need new friends," I told her. "Second of all, which set?"

"Hey, Denis is cool," Ava said defensively. "Just a little creepy. And she said it's about both of them, fairies and vampires."

I knew right away that I needed to hear that prophecy. "Do you know where the prophet is?" I asked.

Ava smirked at me. "Why yes, yes I do."

I smirked back at her. "You thinking what I'm thinking, Aves?"

"Road trip."

_**~EL~**_

Elijah held the door open for Bella, as the two walked into the house Bella's siblings had occupied. She caught his hand with hers as they walked further into the house. Ever since Elijah had been undaggered, Bella was always making sure they were touching in some way. She found it hard to be apart from him, after going years without him.

"Hailey?" Bella called, eyes scanning for her double. She was met with silence.

Bella frowned as she continued to look for her. She had left Hailey in charge of protecting her siblings. The younger girl hadn't realized what a huge deal this was to Bella, putting her family's lives in Hailey's hands. After losing them all once, she was even more protective of them.

It meant Bella trusted Hailey, if she was letting Hailey watch over them.

Bella's fingers continued to brush against Elijah's, as she walked into the living room, him on her heels. She stopped when she saw a familiar blonde sitting on the couch, legs crossed as she fiddled with her shirt. There was a bored expression on her face.

Adora smirked at her younger sister as she looked up to see them looking at her. Bella and Elijah together had always made her sick. They were so… sweet, sickly sweet. And, thinking back to simpler times, when everyone was still human, Bella had made a lot of selfish decisions because of Elijah. And the fact that Elijah made her sister happy when Adora wanted her to be miserable was just another reason to hate the couple.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked Adora rather coldly, crossing her arms over her chest. Just because she was agreeing to work with her didn't mean she had to forgive Adora for her sins.

"Waiting for you, Sister," Adora said, standing up. "I think it best if we were to get our powers back as soon as possible. No need to draw this little alliance out longer than necessary," she added with a cruel smile.

"Where's Hailey?" Bella asked, completely ignoring what Adora had said.

She rolled her eyes at the mention of Hailey. "She ran off with some man a couple hours ago," Adora said bitterly. "After she threatened me."

Bella's eyes flashed to her older sister. "Hailey threatened you?"

Adora nodded. "She threatened to tear me apart if I tried anything, _the arrogant little-" _she cut herself off when she saw Bella's expression. "You had no idea, did you, Bella?"

Bella looked down at the ground, telling Adora all she needed to know. Adora smirked, looking like a kid on Christmas morning. "Really sister, you should learn to control your own attack dog," Adora said, eyes lighting up at how she would be able to use this against Bella.

Bella looked up at Adora. "Hailey _isn't _my attack dog," she said quietly.

Adora started towards Bella. "Let me give you some sisterly advice, Bella," she said, her smirk growing. "The thing with attack dogs, is that if they aren't properly trained, they'll bite their owners. So it's always best to put those mutts down. And, let's be honest here, Hailey lacks all kinds of training."

Bella gritted her teeth at the obvious threat against Hailey. She refused to let Adora into her head. But that had been Adora's gift after all, mind reading. She had a knack for it.

"I think it's best if you leave, Adora," Elijah said, coming to Bella's rescue, like always.

Adora sighed, but didn't put up a fight. She started towards the door. "Think about what I said, Bella," she called over her shoulder. "Put the mutt out of her misery before she ends up biting you."

Bella didn't wish to know if that was Adora threatening Hailey, or just a simple warning that if she couldn't control the girl, it would end up coming back to bite her in the arse. She didn't want to know the answer.

_**~EL~**_

Halia stared, horrified, at him. Klaus couldn't look her in the eyes. This was what he was afraid of. Losing her. Whenever he thought about them being reunited, over the centuries, he never thought about her reaction to the terrible things he had done over the years. He had never taken into consideration how much Halia hated people getting hurt.

"How many people, Klaus?"

Her voice, loud and shaking, brought his attention back to her. "What?" he asked.

"How many people did you kill, to get me back?" she repeated, swallowing. Halia looked pale and exhausted, as if this conversation was draining the life from her.

"I'm not sure," he answered. "I didn't keep track of the numbers, Love. A lot."

She sighed and ran a hand over her face. "Did you kill any fairies?" she asked, fearing the answer.

Klaus closed his eyes, his jaw tensing.

"Klaus, tell me."

The fact that she no longer called him Niklaus wasn't lost on him. Niklaus was the human boy she had fallen in love with. This monster of a man who had slaughtered many without a second thought was Klaus. They were different people with the same face.

"Yes" was all he said.

Halia shook her head slightly, feeling sick. "And you did it all for me," she muttered.

Klaus looked up at her. "I would do anything for you, Halia, I have," he told her, his voice pleading, pleading her not to leave him, to see past his terrible sins.

She shook her head again, more firmly this time. "This… this is not okay, Niklaus," she told him. "You killed and slaughtered innocents, and it does not matter why you did it."

"Halia, _please…" _He didn't like where she was going with her words. Klaus could just tell they would be the end of him.

"Everything you've done, Klaus… I can't accept it," she said, backing away from him.

"_Halia." _His voice was below a whisper now, his eyes glued to her figure even though watching her walk away would just break him.

"You're not… this isn't… you're not the man I fell in love with." Her voice caught on the words, and Halia placed a hand over her mouth, as if she couldn't believe she had just said that. Her eyes burned, but she turned away from Klaus before he could see her tears.

But Klaus was too stunned by that blow to even feel the sharp sting of Halia walking out of his room, the door closing with a quiet click behind her.

_**~EL~**_

"Bella? You here?"

I pushed the door closed behind me as I walked towards the living room. I was excited to tell her about the prophecy, especially since she probably knew more about prophecies than anybody. It was also lead to the "greater evil" Abigail had been talking about.

When I walked into the living room, Bella was sitting down on the couch, Elijah standing next to her. One look at the old couple and I instantly something was wrong.

When Elijah saw me, he cleared his throat. "I'll give you two some privacy," he murmured, before leaving the room.

Bella looked up at me and I frowned at her. "You threatened Adora?"

I scoffed. "Are you really mad about that?" I asked her.

"_Yes, I am." _In a blur, Bella was standing in front of me, her hands on her hips. "You can't go around threatening my sister, Hailey. You don't know what she's capable of."

I rolled my eyes. "That's what Adora said," I muttered, turning towards the door.

"Not so fast," Bella said. "That's not the only thing I'm upset about. You can't leave this house when I'm not here, Hailey. _Especially _when Adora is here. Someone needs to protect my siblings. What were you thinking?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said, rolling my eyes again. "Probably that your siblings are older than this continent and don't need a babysitter."

Bella glared at me. "That's not what I meant, Hailey-"

"What did Adora say to you?" I asked her. "Why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"Adora didn't say anything to me," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You just need to learn how to be responsible, Hailey. I need you to help me with everything that is going on."

I gritted my teeth. "You know, Bella, having a mom didn't work out so well for me the first time," I said dryly. "So I really don't need you to try to act like my mom now."

"Hailey-" she said with a sigh.

"And I don't know what Adora said to you about me," I said, already walking towards the door. "But when you're ready to stop lying to me, we can talk about responsibility and trust."

Then I walked out of the house. I guess Bella wouldn't be going on the road trip to the prophet with me anymore.

_**~EL~**_

As Halia tried to find a way out of the mansion, she got lost again. But when she came to a familiar room again, she stopped.

It was the room with the coffins.

She walked into the room to see that the coffins were still there. With a shaky breath, Halia wiped her tears away and approached the nearest coffin. Klaus was keeping even more secrets from her, and she wanted to find them all out.

But when Halia opened the coffin, she gasped at who was inside.

Rebekah. Her dearest, closest friend Rebekah.

She was wearing unfamiliar clothes and her skin was a rather disgusting gray. A dagger was sticking out of her chest, and it didn't take Halia long to figure out that that was what was keeping the vampire dead.

Halia opened up two more coffins, finding Kol and Finn, but couldn't open the last one. She didn't think too much of it, though. She was still focused on the three originals she had grown up with, the three she knew.

And Klaus had daggered them, his siblings. He killed them and kept them in boxes.

Halia knew what she had to do.

_**~EL~**_

I was packing my bags for the road trip. I decided that it would just be me and Ava going on it- Damon would stay to hold down the fort. And Bella and I weren't exactly on the best terms at that moment.

I slung my bag over my shoulder before walking out to my car. After I flung the bags into the trunk, I slammed it shut, only to reveal Halia staring at me with wide eyes.

"Holy shit!" I cursed, startling her.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, not looking me in the eyes.

"Halia… what are you doing over here?" I asked her. It was a long walk from Fairy Manor to the Boarding house.

"I... did something, Hailey," she said quietly.

I frowned at her. "What did you do? Kill someone?"

She took a deep breath. "I undaggered the Mikaelsons- the original vampires."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **And now shit gets intense.

So, I wrote this Kemma oneshot/drabble thing that I think I'm going to post after I post this chapter. It's for you very patient Kemma fans, and it's about Kol dealing with the loss of Gemma. I dunno, I liked writing it, so stay tuned for that.

Thank you to: Kara, ravenclawfairy, SomebodyWhoCares, w.i.t.c.h fan in ut, and ratherbereading125 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	33. Killers

**Chapter thirty three**

_Killers_

When Klaus finally snapped out of the trance Halia's ten words put him under, the first thing that came to his mind was to stop her from leaving. Maybe if he talked to her, he could convince her that he was still the man she had originally fallen in love with- just that that man had been twisted and hardened by the years of loss and pain he had endured.

"Halia?" he called, heading towards the front door. Maybe she was still there. She always did have a hard time finding her way in the house. Maybe she had gotten lost and was still there.

"Halia, Love," he said loudly, so that she could hear him. "Please, let me explain."

There was a creak of weight shifting on the old wooden boards, and Klaus turned around, expecting to see her. Instead, all he saw was one of the Picassos he had "borrowed" from a museum who couldn't remember the name of.

"Halia?" he frowned. Someone was there, but he no longer believed it was his fairy.

Before Klaus could raise his eyebrows in concern, he felt a sharp pain as someone stabbed him the heart.

"_Is this familiar to you, Nik?" _

His eyes widened as he pawed at the dagger stick out of his chest. "Rebekah," he gasped, finally pulling it out of his chest. "But how-?"

His sister smirked at him, eyes lit up with a bitter anger. They flickered to something over Klaus' shoulder, a second before he groaned as another dagger dug its way into his skin.

"_Kol," _he grunted as his brother joined his sister's side, malice alive in his brown eyes. Over their heads, he could make out Finn in the shadows, his long hair and clothes making him stick out like a sore thumb in this century.

His siblings were undaggered.

But how?

_**~EL~**_

Elijah squeezed Bella's knee as he pressed a glass of wine into her hand. She had been distraught over her argument with Hailey, but he assured her that it was nothing to worry about. Hailey was a teenager; her emotions were running on a high. It had been like this when the twins were her age.

A pang hit Elijah's heart at the thought of his sons. That was a road he didn't want to go down.

Bella's head shifted to rest on his shoulder just as his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. Without removing his hand from her knee, he pulled it out and glanced at the unknown number before answering.

"Hello?"

"_Elijah. It's Hailey."_

Bella frowned and looked up at him. He frowned back down at her. "Hailey?" he was tempted to ask her how she had his number, but decided against it. She had Bella's determination, that was for sure. "What is it? Do you wish to speak to Bella?"

"_I called you directly to avoid doing just that." _Bella's eyes flickered with hurt before looking away. It reminded him of the way she had always reacted whenever Lukas or Kaleb were to act out and purposefully hurt her. _"You're not human, Mother- you wouldn't understand" _had been their most common insult.

_She's a teenager, Bella, _he wanted to tell her. _They say cruel things to hurt you. It's what they do._

"What is it, then?" he asked, grasping Bella's hand, her fingers intertwining with his.

"_My source wishes to remain anonymous," _she said. _"But I have some news that I'm sure you would love to know."_

Elijah frowned and waited for her to continue.

"_Your siblings are undaggered, Elijah. They're back."_

_**~EL~**_

Halia was dead silent in the seat next to me, staring out the car window with her big doe eyes all mournful. I sighed as I set my phone in the cup holder next to me. Even though she had begged me to take her with me on the road trip to visit the prophet, she wasn't proving to be much entertainment.

Ava had yet to appear in the backseat, so the mustang was dead silent. It was a little unnerving; considering I couldn't remember the last time I had had complete silence. I had never really liked silence, either. It was louder than when there was noise. And it was more smothering.

"I'm so sorry, Hailey."

I glanced at Halia than back to the road. "For what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Being boring? No worries, Halia. I had to stick it out with Bella for a week, and she's way more boring than you-"

"That's not what I meant and you know it." She looked up at me, her brown eyes oddly passionate, and I sighed.

"I'm sorry that Klaus threatened Damon's life. I'm sorry that he manipulated you. I'm sorry that you almost died because of me," she continued, looking distraught, as if this had been eating away at her soul.

I pushed my bangs out of my face. "I don't blame you," I said slowly. "Not for a second. And, honestly, not even really mad at Klaus anymore."

She blinked, surprised. "Really?"

"Oh, believe me, I'll never forgive him for threatening Damon- it's part of being a territorial vampire- but I'm not angry," I explained with a quick shake of my head.

"Why not?" Halia asked, frowning with curiosity.

"Partially because I haven't really had the time to be angry," I said. "And partially because I know I'd do the exact same thing he did."

Halia was put into silence. I glanced at her to see her jaw dropped slightly in surprise. "You'd really do the same thing Klaus did?" she whispered after a few minutes.

I nodded. "Yep," I said. "I know I would."

I frowned and looked back to the fairy. "You wouldn't?" I asked.

She shook her head slowly. "I couldn't imagine killing anyone for anything," she said. "No matter how much I loved a person."

"I guess not," I said, thinking back to how Bella refused to give me up for Elijah. "I think, for moral, selfless people like you and Bella, there are certain lines you won't cross no matter how much you love somebody and want them back."

"But for people like me and Klaus," I continued. "We're selfish enough to slaughter thousands of people and not bat an eyelash about it, if it means we get back the person we love most in the world."

"But- killing innocent people-" Halia shook her head and cut herself off.

I sighed. "It's not the same for you, Halia, because you're not a vampire. But I am. And so is Klaus, and Bella, and Elijah, and really everybody in this town. And, honestly, sometimes when we push our humanity away, we don't think twice about who's innocent and who's not. The first thing we think about is our thirst and how to quench it. And then we think about the few people we allow ourselves to care about and how to protect them. We don't care about innocents. They're just collateral damage."

Halia looked horrified at what I was saying, but listened anyway, with a twisted sort of curiosity. "Because, Halia," I said, still staring at the road. "At the end of the day, we're all just a bunch of selfish killers."

Halia swallowed, eyes looking down at the floor. "Maybe you're a selfish killer, Hailey," she said in a low voice. "Maybe Niklaus is too. Maybe even Bella and Elijah- the most selfless people I've ever known- but I'm not. And I can't be okay with someone who would slaughter innocent people- fairies- no matter what their cause is."

I shrugged, and Halia looked even more distressed than before. "I-I don't know how to forgive him," she told me honestly.

"You will," I said confidently. "Eventually."

She looked at me oddly. "How can you be so sure?"

"Well mostly because Klaus isn't gonna let you go so easily," I answered. "I mean, if he didn't let death separate you two, do you really think he's gonna let your soft heart do the same?"

Halia didn't have an answer for that.

_**~EL~**_

"Bella! Where are you going?"

Gemma frowned as she watched her sister stalk after Elijah with a dazed look on her face. Elijah wore an equally dazed look, but then blurred out of the house, as if determined to get to a certain place.

Bella barely spared Gemma a glance. "Not now, Gemma, alright?" she said distractedly, glancing at where Elijah disappeared to while she pulled out her phone.

Gemma walked up to her side. "What's going on?" she demanded. Something had happened, she could tell. Something serious. And Bella wouldn't tell her willingly, because her sister liked to announce problems that were already solved. Clearly this problem didn't have a solution yet.

"Not now," Bella repeated, walking towards the door.

"_Bella." _Gemma grabbed her sister's arm to keep her from storming away. "Just tell me. Maybe I can-"

"No." She easily shook off her sister's arm, her right hand still clutching her phone. Bringing Gemma along would only cause unnecessary drama. Kol would be there, and the two would clash like toothpaste and orange juice. It would only be worse, since Kol had just been undaggered.

No. Their reunion was better suited for another time.

"Just… stay here, Gemma," Bella said firmly, looking at her sister once before disappearing after Elijah.

Gemma frowned at Bella. She was hiding something, definitely.

Without another thought, Gemma ran after her sister.

_**~EL~**_

"You've reached Hailey Ellis. She's not here right now. Please leave a message after the beep. _Beeee-"_

"_I know you're there, Hailey."_

I sighed and looked at Hailey, who glanced at me curiously, before turning back to the road and cutting off an angry looking soccer mom in a minivan.

"I'm a little busy right now, Bella," I said. I was still bitter over our argument, and I held grudges.

"_Well, then you'll make time for this," _she said firmly. _"How did you know Elijah's siblings were undaggered?"_

"Uh… lucky guess?" I looked at Halia again. She didn't want her sister to know it was her who undaggered the vampires, and since I was angry with Bella, I was more than happy to comply with her wishes.

"_Hailey, I have no time for your games." _I frowned. Something had Bella wound up.

"I can't tell you," I said. "My source wishes to remain anonymous."

Bella paused, and I could practically hear the gears turning in her head. _"Oh, God," _she said finally. _"It was Halia, wasn't it?"_

I sighed. "No?"

"_She found out about Niklaus, didn't she?" _Bella continued before I could answer. _"And then she found the coffins."_

Halia stared at me with her wide doe eyes. "Bella knows?"

"_Where is Halia, Hailey?" _Bella demanded.

"Well, she's definitely not in the passenger seat of my car, if that's what you're asking-"

"_Hailey." _Bella exhaled slowly, trying to keep calm. _"Where are you?"_

"Uh, about two and a half hours outside of Philadelphia," I answered. That was where the prophet was residing.

"_And why are you driving to Philadelphia?"_

I frowned. Bella was old; maybe she knew something about what I was about to visit. "What do you know about prophets?"

"_I know they're absolutely mad."_

I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't they just psychics, like us?"

"_No, psychics see visions of the future that can be changed. Prophets make prophecies that cannot be changed."_

"Huh," I said. "Still sounds like a fancy psychic to me."

"_Hailey," _Bella said in a warning tone. _"Why are to running off to see a prophet? They are not something to mess with. Knowing the future is very dangerous, and knowing the future that cannot change has driven prophets insane. They're not stable, and therefore very dangerous."_

I scoffed. "Please, I think I can take an old lady dressed in shawls and hovering over a crystal ball."

"_Hailey, please." _Bella sounded almost pleading. _"If you insist on visiting a prophet, take me with you. But don't drag Halia along on this."_

"Too late, Bells," I said mockingly. "We're making such good time."

"_Hailey-"_

I hung up on her.

_**~EL~**_

Gemma frowned at the rather menacing mansion before slowly walking inside. She had followed Bella here, not really knowing what to expect. When she was in the foyer, she heard voices coming from the left hallway, and made her way towards them.

Bella would be angry with her, but she was her little sister. Gemma wasn't intimidated by the girl she used to braid flowers into her hair.

"Bella?" she called. "Just tell me what's going on, and I'll leave, I promise."

She reached up to touch the necklace hanging from her throat. Kol's necklace. Even though she had worn it for years, it would always be Kol's necklace.

"Bella, come on now-" Gemma gasped suddenly as she tripped over something, just catching her balance before she fell on her face.

Her heart pounding in her chest, she looked down to see a smashed lamp on the floor. She frowned, noticing more smashed furniture littering the hall. What had happened here?

She stiffened suddenly, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck rise. She could feel a presence behind her, staring at her intently.

Gemma whirled around, eyes wide as she looked at a man who looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"G-Gemma." The man looked at her disbelievingly. "It can't be…"

Gemma felt as if she had been hit by a train. She took a step backwards, as if knocked backwards by the force of shock.

"Kol."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **I really meant to post this days ago, but tumblr got the best of me this weekend.

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it :)

Thank you to: imaddictedtocarrots, ravenclawfairy, purpleXorchid, w.i.t.c.h fan in ut, Nellie07, xxxRena, SomebodyWhoCares, and ratherbereading125 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	34. Prophetess

**Chapter Thirty Four**

_Prophetess _

Gemma stared back at Kol with her eyes wide. He stared back at her, equally shocked. Clearly neither of them expected the other to be alive.

But Kol was _alive. _He was real. He was standing a few feet away from her, completely real and alive and not a figment of her imagination. A strange sense of joy made its way through Gemma. _Kol was alive. _He was dead, in a sense, but alive. She put her hand over her mouth to keep any strange noises from coming out.

His hair was shorter, cropped closer to his head. She liked it, but she missed his long Viking hair, in a way. She missed being able to play with it after sex, when Kol was in his most affectionate mood. She missed braiding it in his sleep. Seeing Kol with short hair was a little sad, as if it was solid proof how long it had been since they had last seen each other. It was physical evidence of how everything had changed.

Kol studied Gemma, still in complete and utter shock. She was dead, had to be. Even if she hadn't died at the hands of witches all those years ago, there was no reason she'd still be alive today and looking as hot as she had a thousand years ago.

There was magic involved, had to be. Magic brought Gemma back to life, back to him.

But before those feelings Kol had perfected at pushing away and hiding and smothering over a thousand years could resurface and he could allow the joy of seeing Gemma alive and breathing overwhelm him, Kol remembered what he had gone through without her. He remembered what she had said to him the last time they had been together. He remembered that she hadn't wanted to be with him for all of eternity.

And he hated her for it.

It wasn't right, hating her for dying. It wasn't her fault. Gemma had every right to not want to be with him, even when he had been human. But he still hated her for it. He hated her for haunting his dreams for hundreds of years, even after he finally pushed his feelings away- all of them. He hated Gemma because it was easier to hate than to love her. It always had been.

Kol sneered at her, hardening his heart from the feelings that were creeping up on him. "You're just too stubborn to stay dead, aren't you?" he said condescendingly, causing Gemma to frown at him. A thousand years apart, and those words hadn't been what she expected to hear from him.

Before she could answer, someone else had joined them in the hallway. "Kol, where did you run off to?"

Both of them turned to look at Bella, who froze in her steps once she saw Gemma. Her eyes widened as her sister glared at her. "Are you sure there wasn't anything you wanted to tell me, Bella?" she said sarcastically. Then she stormed off in the opposite direction.

"Thank you, Bells, for telling me _everything _that had happened while I've been dead," Kol added, eyes hard as he looked at her. "You've been so much help."

He brushed past her, his shoulder bumping into hers. Bella frowned as the two walked away in opposite directions, unaware that they were taking their anger and frustration for each other out on her.

_**~EL~**_

"Okay Halia, this is how it's gonna go."

I pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall, where the only store open was a small store specializing in witchy voodoo stuff. The window advertised half off on frog eyeballs and you could learn your future for only fifty dollars per session.

I turned to Halia, who looked a little nervous. "I'm doing all the talking," I told her. "You don't say a word to the prophet and stand as far away from him as possible. I'd rather you stay in the car, but I know that's not gonna happen."

She frowned at me. "I'm not gonna screw the meeting up," she told me.

"That's not what I'm worried about," I muttered, before putting the car in park and turning off the engine.

"What are you worried about then?" Halia asked curiously as we got out of the car.

I was worried about her getting hurt, because Halia just had that kind of effect on somebody. You wanted to protect her with all you had, no matter what happened to you. I couldn't tell her that, though.

"I don't need Bella on my back any more than she is," I said easily. "And I'd never hear the end of it if you even got a paper cut while with me."

I started towards the store, Halia on my heels. I felt Ava's presence at my side even before she spoke. "I've tried to dig up more Intel on the prophet," she said, walking in time with me. "But nobody knows much about her."

"Guess we're just winging this, then," I said, and Halia frowned at me.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked.

"Oh, Ava, my snarky ghost sidekick," I said, gesturing in the general area of Ava. "Ava, this is the one and only Halia Erikson, my doe eyed ancestor who's proving to be a pain in my ass like you."

"I know who she is, dumbass," Ava said, rolling her eyes. "I helped raise her from the dead."

"Please," I said. "All you did was make sassy comments and bitch about all the guys turning hot after you died."

"It's true!" she complained. "I mean, look at your brother! And the other original fairies! The vamp originals are easy on the eyes too. You've got some nice genes, Hailey."

I rolled my eyes as I opened the door. A bell above it dinged, announcing our arrival. Halia walked in ahead of me, and I held the door open for Ava even though she could probably walk through it.

"You coming in, Aves?" I asked, turning to face her.

"I can't."

I frowned. "What do you mean 'you can't'?"

"There are ghost wards up, or something," she explained. "It's like there's an invisible brick wall between me and the building. I can't walk through it. See?" she pressed her hand against the air, and it looked like she was pressing it against glass. "You're on your own, Hailey."

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Ava half smiled at me. "I'm a ghost, Hailey- I haven't been 'okay' in two years."

My frowned deepened, but Ava gestured for me to go on. "You have a prophet to threaten for information. I'll be here when you get back."

I nodded slowly and hesitantly left Ava and walked into the store. She was a ghost, after all. What was gonna happen? She would die? It was too late for that.

"Is Ava coming?" Halia asked as I joined her.

"Can't," I said briskly. "Ghost wards or something."

"Well, I can't have spirits bothering me during business hours, now can I?"

A woman came out of a backroom, dressed like a stereotypical psychic. She was in her late forties, early fifties, and was wearing dark lensed sunglasses, so that her eyes were completely obstructed from view.

"I am Madame Adelina," she announced, and I seriously doubted if it was her real name. "And who has dared come to my store without an appointment?"

"I'm… Bella," I said, after a pause of thinking. I figured that most supernatural creatures knew who Bella was, and would respect her more than me. "And you don't need to know who she is."

"Liar," Adelina said, frowning. "You are Hailey Ellis, half vampire and half fairy. And the seemingly young girl to your right is Halia Erikson, one of the first fairies in existence. I may be blind, Hailey Ellis, but I still see. That was a test, and you failed it."

"Well, I've never been good at pop quizzes," I retorted, unnerved by her. She clearly was more than a crazy old lady.

"And what could one and a half fairies want from me?" Adelina continued as if I hadn't spoken.

"We were searching for a prophet, Madame," Halia said, bowing her head respectfully. I shot her a look; she wasn't supposed to speak.

"Well, Fairy," Adelina said, reaching to take off her sunglasses. Halia gasped next to me, and I stiffened at the sight.

Her eyes were completely white.

"I prefer to be called Prophetess."

_**~EL~**_

Bella and Elijah had shown up in time to stop Kol, Finn, and Rebekah from tearing Klaus apart.

Bella had to hold Elijah back, so that he wouldn't rip Klaus' heart out.

He knew she only did it for Halia, and because Bella was the kind of person who thought there was good in everyone, even a monster like him.

His siblings hadn't allowed him to leave. And, for once, Klaus didn't try to fight them. He was too tired to. Not in the physical sense, but because having Halia walk away from him after saying he wasn't the man she wanted him to be had drained him of all his energy.

So Klaus sat on a couch and stared blankly at a wall until they decided what to do with him. They were all furious with him, of course, and only Bella was in her right mind. Klaus ignored them, of course. He tuned out everything they were saying. Until Halia was mentioned.

"Halia?" he said. "How is she? Is she alright?"

Only Bella answered him. "She's fine," she assured him. "She's with Hailey, in Philadelphia."

"And you trust her with Halia?" Klaus said accusingly.

Bella narrowed her eyes at him. "Right now, I trust Hailey with her more than I trust you," she snapped.

Klaus resisted the urge to break his sister-in-law's neck, and instead decided he wanted out of the large room and far away from his siblings. He blurred away before Bella could even think to stop him.

Klaus considered leaving town, leaving his family, leaving Halia, all behind. He could run. He had before. He was cowardly enough to leave when things got too tough, though he would never admit that to anyone, not even himself.

He could leave, but then the past thousand years attempting to resurrect Halia would have been for nothing, a waste of time, energy, and resources. He could give up, and a part of him wanted to.

Klaus didn't know where he ended up. Somewhere in the middle of the forest, where his only company was cawing birds and twittering squirrels that avoided him like he had the plague. He was itching to kill something, to take his anger and frustration out on an innocent bystander, almost to spite Halia.

"Of all the people I'd expect to run into in the middle of the woods."

Klaus stiffened, the muscles in his back tightening at that voice. She had the worst timing in the world. He was in a mood to take a life, and he had daydreamed of killing her for hundreds of years.

Adora smirked, but kept her distance. She knew a wounded animal when she saw one, and Klaus was wounded. And everyone knew that animals got most dangerous when they were wounded.

"Oh, Sweetheart, you couldn't have shown up at a better time." Klaus smirked at her, and she saw the coldness in his eyes, the anger. Before she could even respond, his hand was around her throat and she was pressed against a tree.

"You know, I've always fantasized about you having me up against a tree," she choked out as he tightened his grip on her throat. "But I didn't imagine it quite this way."

"You don't know how many times I wanted to bring you back to life, Adora," he snarled, his face inches from hers. "Just so I could kill you again. Now I get that chance, and don't think I'm going to waste it."

"Kill me then," she retorted, glaring back at him. "I wonder what your precious Halia will think of that."

Klaus paused and let go of his grip on Adora's throat so she could breathe. She gasped for air as her feet came in contact with the ground again. She laughed lowly as she looked up at him. "What's wrong? Trouble in paradise?"

Klaus didn't answer, but still her smirk widened. "There is! What happened? She figured out that you're no longer the sweet village boy she fell in love with? Did she find out just exactly who you are and what you've done? And she doesn't like it?"

Again, Adora got her answer in his silence. Klaus considered snapping her neck, maybe even draining her of her blood. Powers or not, she still had fairy blood in her veins, and fairy blood was amazing.

"It's a shame, really," Adora said in a low voice. "I like this Klaus better than the human one. This one's stronger, rougher, sexier. This one's a killer. But poor little Halia can't stomach that, can she? That's what you get for playing around with little girls, I suppose. They live in a world of rainbows and unicorns. They can't find the beauty in blood."

Klaus narrowed his eyes again, deciding that he would, in fact, sink his fangs into her neck. But Adora was already backing away from him, a smirk on her lips. "Oh, no you don't, Niklaus," she warned. "It's not my time to die again just yet. I still have so much hell to raise." Her eyes raked his body again. "You should find me if you wish to take me up on my offer of having me up against a tree."

Before Klaus could try to stop her, she was gone.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait! Especially the Kemma shippers, who were pissed at me for the ending of the last chapter. This was supposed to be a lot longer, but I decided to split this chapter in half so I could get it out quicker.

Out of curiosity, does anyone prefer Klaus and Adora over Klaus and Halia? There might be a few of you. They're a lot more alike, and that relationship would be so dark and bloody and even borderline abusive. I could picture them treating each other like shit if they ever got together, because they'd bring out the worst in each other.

Thank you to: w.i.t.c.h fan in ut, Nelle07, ravenclawfairy, SomebodyWhoCares, and Guest for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	35. The Prophecy

**Chapter Thirty Five**

_The Prophecy  
><em>

"I've heard so much about you, Hailey Ellis," Adelina said, a grim grin on her face as her white eyes continued to stare at me. "About you and your family, your ancestors, your bloodline. I _know _so much about you."

"You're… you're blind," Halia said, still staring at her.

"Well, don't stare, Hallie," I said, bumping her with my elbow. "It's rude."

"Yes, Fairy," Adelina said, putting her sunglasses back on. "You've clearly never encountered a prophet or prophetess before, have you?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "The only person I've ever encountered who can glance into the future is my sister. And, well, now Hailey."

"Yes, when the gods looked down on your family that fateful day, they gave the gift of future-seeing along with the gift of water, fire, earth, nature, healing, telepathy, and telekinesis. But your sister and her descendants differ from me. They glimpse into the ever changing flux of time. Their visions can change. But my prophecies cannot. They are the fixed moments that cannot be changed. Time is like a road- the shape and course can change, but never the end point.

"But, alas, Fairy," Adelina said, walking slowly around her shop as she spoke. "Seeing into time comes with a price. One cannot know what happens in the future without paying some debt to the Gods for their knowledge. Since fairies just see events that _could _happen, they only pay with headaches and realistic nightmares, nothing permanent. But prophets write history. They peer into the very soul of time, and that means a heavier price. They pay with their eyesight."

"Well, you know," I said awkwardly. "It's not like it's all fun and games for fairies. Those headaches are a bitch."

Adelina ignored me. "You came here for something, did you not, Hailey Ellis?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I heard through my sources that you had a prophecy recently. One that involves the originals- both of them. I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to share that with us."

Adelina remained silent, contemplating if she wanted to tell me or not. I doubted that she could be compelled, since all supernatural creatures couldn't- at least, not by me- so my only plan besides asking her nicely would be to threaten her. And I knew Halia wouldn't be too keen on that.

"I shall tell you of the prophecy," Adelina said slowly. "If only to shed some light on what I have foreseen."

I frowned. Why would Adelina need my help to translate the prophecy _she_ saw? But the old hag was already ushering us into the backroom. "Quickly, quickly. I need not warn you that there are some who would not wish me to tell you what I am going to."

I stared at the prophetess who could not look back at me. "You say that like your prophecy could bring the end of the human race or something," I said slowly.

"Well, not the _human _race," Adelina said vaguely, before gesturing again. "Come now, Hailey Ellis and Halia Erikson. Before I change my mind."

I grabbed the fairy I was in charge of and dragged her into the backroom without another thought.

_**~EL~**_

"Just leave me alone, Bella!"

Rebekah slammed the door in Bella's face hard enough to crack the wall surrounding it. Bella sighed and ran her hands down her face in agitation. Was Rebekah so _difficult? _It was a shame she had turned when she was still a teenager. She had never gotten out of the 'no-one-on-planet-earth-understands-me' phase.

Bella had just been explaining to her that, no, in fact, they couldn't hang Niklaus from his toes and then pull out his internal organs one by one. The dramatics in the Mikaelson family was sometimes too much for her.

Before that, she had tried to see what had Kol in such a rotten mood. He had promptly told her to stop acting like his mum and go hover over someone else before he snapped her neck. Before that, she had spent twenty minutes trying to find Niklaus, who had run away, maybe even for good.

Then she had tried to talk to Finn- who had it the hardest. He had to adjust from being dead for nine hundred years, and he also hated what he was, what they all were. He wasn't very responsive at all, and she eventually left him alone.

To make it all worse, Hailey was ignoring her calls. She and Halia could both be dead right now, and she wouldn't know. She was _worried. _About all of them. She hovered and bothered and talked to them because she cared.

She thought she had stopped being a mother when she buried Lukas and Kaleb.

Gritting her teeth, Bella marched back into the living room where Elijah was lounging, getting a bit of peace since his siblings were undaggered. She sat on the couch in front of him in a huff, and he looked up at her with one eyebrow raised.

"If I commit mass murder right now on your entire family and some of my family, would that be a turn off for you?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Most likely not," he said. "What are they doing that is going to drive you to massacre them?"

Bella groaned and pulled at her hair, mussing it up. "I'm trying to help them!" she exclaimed. "But they act as if I'm trying to kill them all."

"Well, you did just admit to wanting to do that," Elijah said, and Bella glared at him. He raised his hands in defense.

"It's not too late to add you to that list, Elijah Mikaelson," she threatened, narrowing her eyes at him.

Bella, his Bella, was warm and small and sweet. She had the kind of smile that made anyone feel comforted in a blink of an eye. But she was also the most terrifying creature Elijah had ever encountered. She was not one to anger, not one to cross. He was lucky and he had never been on the receiving end of one of her death glares, though he had witnessed them before. He still pitied the poor souls who had gotten on the bad end of his Bella.

Knowing she was not one to be messed with, he backed off. She was clearly in a bad mood, and he would not do well to make it worse.

"Bella!" Rebekah suddenly shouted. "I need you!"

Bella sighed and looked at Elijah again. "Do you remember having more children?" she asked dryly. "Because I don't."

He just chuckled again as she stood up. "If Rebekah mysteriously goes missing," Bella drawled, smoothing down her hair. "It may or may not be because I took her dagger shoved it back into her heart in a moment of weakness."

"You know you love it," he said, and she paused to look back and frown at him.

"Love what?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Mothering our siblings," he said. "Feeling like a family again, after all this time."

Bella smiled slightly, and turned her back on Elijah.

"I never said I didn't."

_**~EL~**_

"What's the prophecy?" I said as soon as Adelina closed the door behind her. "And why are you acting like people would kill you to stop you from telling me?"

"Because, you, Hailey Ellis," the old woman said as she made her way towards me. "Are so very dangerous. You have powerful blood running through your veins and are related to very, very important people. And if I were to tell you the prophecy, who the hell knows what sort of damage you will do?"

I smirked at her. "Well, I have always been a wildcard."

She glared at me, as if she had finally gotten sick of hearing my voice. "You are so arrogant and disrespectful, I cannot believe the blood of Bella and Elijah Mikaelson runs through your veins," she spat.

I cocked my head to the side. "Why are you so obsessed with blood? More importantly, my blood? My ancestors? My family? You only bring it up every ten seconds."

Adelina gripped the edge of the table in the middle of the room. "Because it's you, Hailey Ellis!" she shouted.

I turned to Halia, who kept staring at Adelina with wide eyes. "Is it just me, or is she a wee bit obsessed with me?" I asked her.

"Hailey," she whispered. "I have a bad feeling about this. About this prophecy. We should leave. Now."

I frowned. "And I thought I was the one with the psychic visions."

"Yeah, maybe, but you're not the only one with a good gut sense," she retorted. "And mine is telling me we need to leave, right now."

"You, Hailey Anne Ellis," Adelina said, whipping her sunglasses off to reveal her white eyes again. "The only daughter of William and Holly Ellis, it's you. It's all led down to you. Over a thousand years ago, a young fairy fell in love with the son of a witch- a future original vampire- and had his children. Their children had children, and then they had children. Their blood got passed down dozens upon dozens of generations all the way down to you and your half-brother, Jason Reginald Andrews, because it's you."

"Your brother's real name is Jason?" Halia whispered.

"Never mind that, his middle name is Reginald?" I asked, eyebrows raised. "God, his mom really does hate him."

"Are you even listening to me!" Adelina screamed, and Halia and I both jumped slightly. "It's you, Hailey Ellis."

Her white eyes made her seem even more crazy. "Yeah, I get that. It's me. But what's me?" I asked, freaked out.

"But why?" Adelina said, ignoring my question. "Why is it you? Why does it all lead up to you?"

"Hailey," Halia said, grabbing my hand. "We need to leave. Please."

Adelina grabbed both of my hands. "I don't understand it," she said breathily. "It makes no sense. None of it. It's not a prophecy, it's open ended. Help me, Hailey Ellis."

There was a sharp pain in my head, and I gasped. Then I was yanked away from the insane prophetess.

It all happened in slow motion. The sound of glass breaking, gunshots being fired rapidly. I acted in complete instinct and pinned Halia beneath me to the floor. I gasped in pain as something hit me in the back, sending waves of pain throughout my body.

Then it was over. I groaned as I sat up and looked at the room.

Bullets had destroyed the window, the walls, the table. How many had been fired at us? And by who?

I picked one up of the ground and held it between my fingers. It was a wooden bullet.

I heard a gasp and turned to face Halia. She had a hand over her mouth and was pointing at something on the floor. "Hailey, look."

I peered over the table to see Adelina's body, dozens of bullets buried into her. Her blank white eyes stared up at me.

She was dead.

_**~EL~**_

Gemma sighed as she got out of the bathtub. It had been relaxing to sit and soak in hot water for an hour, but the water had went cold and her skin had started to prune. So she was forced to get out and face real life.

Gemma pulled a robe on and walked out of her bathroom. Her hair dripped onto her robe as she walked to her closet to find clothes. She slid the robe off of her shoulder as she looked for something suitable to wear.

"Oh, don't mind me, Darling. I'll wait patiently until you're appropriately dressed."

She gasped and whirled around to see Kol lounging on her bed. "Kol!" she exclaimed, her hand over her heart.

He smirked up at her. "Why did you stop the strip tease, Gem?" he asked her sarcastically. "It's been a hundred years since I've seen a naked woman."

Gemma ignored the pang in her stomach. She knew to expect that Kol would have slept with other women, seen them naked, had them in his bed. She just didn't expect it to hurt as much as it did.

"How did you even get in here?" she asked, pulling her robe tighter around her body. "You have to be invited in."

His smirk widened. "Yes, and Adrian was more than willing to do it," he replied cheekily. "He's always been a good lad, Adrian."

Gemma took a deep breath. That should have been the moment she told him she missed him. She should've hit him and told him she loved him, the big idiot. That's what she always said, two times she ever admitted to Kol Mikaelson how in love she was with him.

But that didn't mean he loved her anymore. In the real world, people just didn't pine after their dead lovers for a thousand years. It didn't happen. Gemma had to accept that.

"Why are you here?" she asked as she looked around for her bra, the dreadful thing. She much preferred to go without one, but according to Bella, it wasn't sociably acceptable to be seen without wearing one anymore.

Kol held up the lacy blue bra and grinned wickedly up at her. "Looking for this, Love?" he asked innocently.

Gemma glared at him and yanked it out of his grasp. "What the hell do you want, Kol?" she snapped, losing her patience with him quickly, because she didn't know where they stood, how he felt about her.

He shrugged. "It has been a while since I last saw you, Gem," he replied. "So I figured we best catch up."

Gemma rolled her eyes. "Turn around then," she said, as she pulled a random shirt and a pair of jeans out of the closet.

"Make me," he replied, eyes full of the kind of amusement only Kol got from annoying people.

Gemma frowned at him, and he stared back at her, daring her to do something about it. Then she shrugged. "Fine, then."

Gemma dropped her robe and it fell to the floor. She smirked back at Kol as he tried his best not to rake his eyes down her body. If he did, he'd definitely ruin his plan to keep Gemma far away from him and his heart and pull her to him and-

He shook his head as Gemma took her sweet time getting dressed. She was toying with him. Even now, she loved playing her games. It wasn't until she clasped her bra on and shimmied into her jeans that Kol finally relaxed. At least all the good parts were covered now.

"If you must know, Gemma," he said, almost sounding bored. "I came here to make sure we both know where we stand."

Gemma pulled on her shirt and turned around to face him. "Care to share then, Kol?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kol sat up and shrugged. "It's best we don't make a big deal of the past, Love," he told her easily, as if discussing the weather. "We had a fling a thousand years ago- we both moved on since then."

Gemma stiffened, looking up at him, gray eyes filling up with pain. "What did you just say?"

He knew he was hurting her; that was the plan. "What we had, Gemma," he said coldly, never taking his eyes off of her. "It was just a fling, nothing to make a big deal of. I'm over it already."

"Get out." She pointed at the door. "Get out, Kol."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Really, Gemma? Mad at me because I'm telling the truth?"

"It's not the truth!" she exclaimed. "It was so much more than a fling and you know it!"

In an instant, he was standing in front of her, eyes dangerously cold. "Shut up, Gemma," he said in a low voice. "Stop talking."

"It was _real, _Kol Mikaelson," she hissed. "And I won't let you act like it wasn't."

"Maybe for you," he said dismissively.

"Why are you acting like this?" Gemma exclaimed. "Why are you trying to hurt me like this?"

"What? This is all my fault, Gemma?" he asked her, eyebrows raising. "You always blame me for everything that goes wrong."

"You _left _me, Kol," she shouted.

"_I lost you," _He snarled back at her. "Twice. Do you have any idea-" he cut himself off and ran his hand over his face. "No, of course you don't."

Gemma didn't have any words. She just looked at Kol, unable to look away. He stared at her angrily. "You don't know anything, Gemma," he told her quietly. Then she blinked and he was gone.

Gemma sighed and leaned against the wall, suddenly feeling drained of ay energy. Around her neck, her fingers grasped the one thing she had left of Kol.

He thought she didn't know what it was like for him to lose her. But Kol has no idea what it was like to lose him and only have a stupid necklace left to hold onto.

_**~EL~**_

"We need to leave, Halia," I said, grabbing her hand. "Now."

"But," Halia said, looking back at Adelina's dead body. "She's dead."

"Yeah, I know. That's why we need to leave. In case who ever just did the drive by comes back and finishes us off," I said, my side still aching. Though I couldn't die by being shot in the heart by a wooden bullet. Halia could, though.

"We can't just leave her," Halia said, though I was stronger than her and dragged her easily behind me.

"Watch us," I replied.

Halia yanked her wrist away. "Hailey, stop!" she exclaimed. "A person just died! Have you no remorse? Do you even care?"

I didn't say anything back, and Halia looked at me, disappointed. She knew my answer.

"Well, you must care that we didn't get to know what that prophecy is," she muttered.

"Oh, but we did. Or, I did."

She looked up at me, shocked. "What?"

I smirked at her. "When Adelina grabbed my hands, she shared the prophecy with me. In my mind. I know exactly what it is. And, let me tell you Hallie, it's a good one."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **I know a lot of you asked for Kemma fluff. But it's gonna be a while before they reached that point guys. They're not the fluffiest couple in the world either, but I'll give you something. I promise. I have a lot in store for Kemma.

thank you to: AudreyDarke96, SomebodyWhoCares, AZTHEBEST1, Guest, Emerald0319, and w.i.t.c.h fan in ut for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	36. Bullets

**Chapter thirty six**

_Bullets_

"What the hell just happened?"

Ava was pacing the length of the ghost ward when I came out of the half destroyed building, dragging Halia with me. I walked past Ava and towards my car, and she walked with me.

"We need to leave," I said, and Halia tugged uselessly at my grip.

"Hailey, you're hurting me!" Halia finally exclaimed, and I loosened my grip enough for her to slip away. She rubbed her wrist while glaring at me.

"Halia. Car. Now," I said, staring at her hard. She looked defiantly back at me.

"No," she said bluntly.

I took a deep breath to keep from snapping her neck. "Halia, we need to leave, okay? If those people come back-"

"A person just died," she said, cutting me off. "A living, breathing person, with a family and friends. A person with a life just died, and you don't even care. As long as we have the prophecy, why does it matter, right?" she added bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, basically," I said, and her glare deepened.

"You were human too, you know," Halia said in a low voice. "Not that long ago, either. How could you stop caring about humans so fast?"

"I hate to break it to you, Hallie," I said dryly, losing my patience with her. "But I cared about other humans when I was one about as much as I do now."

She stared at me, jaw hanging open, and I turned back to my car. I pulled the passenger door open so hard I was a little surprised I didn't tear it off. "Get in the car," I all but screamed at her. "Because, I swear to God, Halia, you don't want me to tell you to do it a third time."

Halia stared at me, long and hard. Then, after a few beats of silence, she slid silently into the passenger seat. I closed the door and let out a sigh. Halia could be such a pain in the ass when she was being self-righteous.

"What happened, Hailey?" Ava asked softly, bringing my attention back to her. "All I saw was a car and men came out and shot at the back window. Who died?"

"The prophet," I replied, feeling tired. "It seems someone found out about the prophecy too."

"Does that mean you didn't get it?" Ava asked, frowning.

"I never said that, Aves." I smirked at her and tapped my temple. "I got it; in my mind."

"Do share, Hails," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "What is it?"

I frowned then. "It's the weirdest prophecy I've ever seen. More like a question, really. Like-" I cut myself off.

"Like what?" Ava prompted.

"Like… it hasn't been decided yet, what happens," I said slowly.

Ava frowned at me. "Well, shouldn't that be a good thing?"

"Depends on your definition of a 'good thing'."

_**~EL~**_

The next hours were completely silent and awkward, because Halia was too angry with me to talk. I kept thinking about the prophecy, trying to translate it. I couldn't focus, though, mostly because of something uncomfortable in my back. It wasn't painful, necessarily, but it was pretty annoying.

I pulled to the front of Klaus's mansion, but didn't make to get out of the car. Ava had long since ghosted out, to go find more information on what attacked us. "See you later, Kid," I said as Halia got out of the passenger seat.

She frowned at me. "You're not coming inside?" She asked.

"Nah," I said. "I gotta get home, go see Damon. Translate the prophecy. Take a shower."

"Speaking of the prophecy," Halia said. "You never told me what it was."

"I will," I answered vaguely. "In time."

She smiled slightly, and I frowned at her. "What's so funny?"

"Bella always said that," she explained. "Whenever she was keeping something from us, she'd said she'd tell us in time, but really she'd only tell us when she had no other options. You two aren't that different, really, when you think about it."

I snorted. "Please, I'm the anti-Bella."

"No, my sister Adora is the anti-Bella," Halia corrected dryly. "And you're a cross between the two of them. You have Adora's attitude but, deep down, you have Bella's beliefs. Her morals."

"I don't do morals," I told her.

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe in loyalty? In protecting the people you care about no matter the cost? You don't believe in self-sacrifice?"

"A ha!" I exclaimed, smirking. "That's where you're wrong, Hallie. I'm an extremely selfish person."

She just sighed and shook her head. "I believe that, one day, Hailey," she said, slowly stepping away from the car. "You'll realize you're a lot more like my sister than you both think you are."

Halia walked towards the house then, but I called her back. "Halia, wait one second!"

"What is it?"

"Can you hold off on telling Bella what went down earlier?" I asked. "The prophecy, the attack, all that jazz?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "You want to tell her yourself?"

"Yeah, something like that," I muttered, before putting the car in drive. "I'll see you soon, Halia."

Then I drove off, leaving Halia standing there alone.

_**~EL~**_

Halia didn't agree with Hailey's choice of keeping Bella out of the dark, but she didn't much feel like dealing with the consequences of going against her, so she decided to go along with it anyway.

What she didn't know was why Hailey had to drop her off _here. _She would've been much happier at the house her siblings had been living in, where she had a higher chance of not running into Klaus.

What would she say to him if she saw him? Would he be angry with her for undaggering his siblings? Would he be hurt that she left him? Or would he just be indifferent? She wasn't sure which one was the worst.

Halia made her way to the only bathroom she knew the location of, if anything to hide from Klaus. But when she saw her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she realized how badly she needed to clean herself up.

There was blood staining her dress, but she knew it wasn't hers. It had to be Adelina's. Her hair had dirt and dust and broken glass in it, and her entire body ached from when Hailey had pinned her against the ground. She went to work, making herself look decent to be seen by other people. If anything, it gave her busy work to do.

She had managed to clean off her face and hair, but the dried blood stain was proving to be a bitch to get out. She was sure there was nothing to she could do to keep it from being visible, until she remembered that she did have more clothes here. In Klaus's bedroom.

There was no way she was going in there. You didn't walk into the bear's cave if you wanted to avoid the bear. Plus, her last memories of the room weren't pleasant. She would just have to deal with the stain.

The only problem would be Bella's reaction to it. She'd know something was up the moment she saw her sister in blood stained clothes. And then she'd be forced to tell her about what happened and Hailey would hunt her down and murder her brutally.

Halia sighed and weighed the pros and cons of each option. Maybe Klaus wasn't home. His siblings were furious with him, she knew. Maybe he was distancing himself from their anger. She'd be able to slip into the room and out without him ever knowing she was there.

It seemed like the better option, compared to getting her head ripped off by her vengeful descendant.

The fact that she didn't run into anyone on her way to his bedroom seemed like a good omen. But when she quietly slipped into Klaus's room, she was hit sharply with the memory of the look on his face when she told him he wasn't the man she loved. Halia took a deep breath and moved towards the closet. The faster she was out of there, the better.

Halia pulled a flower printed dress off of a hanger and then turned back towards the door. She was so close to being home free. He would never know that she had been there.

She reached for the door knob at the same time it turned and the door swung open. Klaus frowned at her, something flickering in his eyes that she didn't recognize.

"Halia?"

She should've known she would've run into him. She had never been that lucky.

_**~EL~**_

"Honey, I'm home."

Damon was in the living room, a glass of bourbon in his hand, when I walked in. I shrugged off my jacket and tossed it on the back of a couch before making my way to him. He smiled when he saw me, and I kissed him quickly before taking his drink from him.

Damon sighed as I pulled away and took a sip of his bourbon. "How was visiting the prophetess?" he asked.

"Eventful," I answered vaguely. "She's dead."

He raised his eyebrows. "What'd she do to piss you off."

"Not by me." I rolled my eyes. "I probably would've, though, if I hadn't had Holier-than-thou Halia dragging me down."

"What happened then?" he asked, sitting down the couch. Then he frowned at me. "Hailey, what's on your back?"

I frowned and ran a hand down the back of my shirt. "I'm not sure, why?"

"Come here." He pulled me to him, and lifted up my shirt. Damon cursed and let my shit fall down.

"What? What's wrong? Do I have a skin disease or something?" I asked, frowning.

"You were shot, Hailey. Three times, actually," he told me.

"Oh." I relaxed. "So that was the pain in my back."

"How did you not know you were shot?" he asked me disbelievingly.

I shrugged. "Too focused on getting Halia back home without a scratch on her, I suppose."

"Let's go, then," he said, standing up and pulling me along with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked, frowning.

"To get the bullets out of your back," he answered, grabbing a bottle of whiskey as we walked towards our bedroom. "You're gonna need this."

I made a face. "I'm good, thanks."

"Don't be stupid, Hailey. You can't have bullets in your back forever," Damon argued.

"I beg to differ," I said. "It'd make a cool battle scar."

He rolled his eyes, and I let out a sigh. If I didn't cooperate, Damon would hold me down and pull them out, and that would just hurt more. It wasn't the first time he's removed bullets from my body, and it always hurt like hell.

We walked into our room, and Damon walked into the bathroom to get a tweezers. "Take your shirt off," he ordered.

"I can't remember the last time I've done that myself," I muttered, pulling it off and tossing it in a corner.

Damon returned and, without a word, pushed me down so that my chest was against the bed. His arm came around my stomach to hold me in place.

"You know," I said, my words muffled by the blankets. "I'd make a joke about you having me against the bed like this, but I can feel the bullets digging into my skin in this position, so I'm just gonna stay still so you can get them out faster."

"Good decision," Damon said, before digging the tweezers into the first bullet hole and I swore. He wasn't very gentle when it came to pulling the bullets out.

"So," Damon said, pulling the first one out. "How exactly did you get shot three times."

I was gritting my teeth to keep from shouting out in pain. "Surprise attack," I answered. "A group did a drive by and shot up the place. Halia wasn't hurt, and I came out okay enough, but the prophetess took about a dozen bullets or so."

Damon yanked the second one out, and I cursed into the mattress. "I take it someone didn't want you finding out the prophecy?"

"That'd be a good assumpt- God damn it!" I swore, as Damon removed the last bullet. I took a deep breath as my body finally healed. I sat up and Damon smirked at me as he got rid of the bullets.

"Now was that so bad?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was," I muttered.

"Back to the prophecy," Damon said. "Did the people who shot you get what they want?"

I smirked and stood up. "You'd think you know me by now, Damon," I mused.

He smirked back. "You got it?"

"'_Two families, both the first of their kind, are joined by love and hate, life and death. Both will return to this world and bring light and darkness to it. But a force, the most powerful kind existing, threatens to destroy them and their entire race. One, a mix, descending from both families, will either be their salvation or their destruction, their becoming or their undoing.'" _

I smirked up at Damon. "Did you really expect anything less from me?"

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **thank you to: purpleXorchid, ravenclawfairy, w.i.t.c.h fan in ut, colleenrawr, SomebodyWhoCares, and AudreyDarke96 for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	37. The Woman

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

_The Woman_

"I barely even see you anymore, Hailey."

I sighed and ran a hand over my face. Elena frowned at me from across her kitchen table, a mug of coffee sitting in her hands.

"I know, I'm sorry," I said, resting my elbows on the table. "I've just been so preoccupied by the originals- both sets. There's something coming for all of them, and I've somehow wedged myself in the middle of it."

"Why don't you just… leave them?" Elena suggested. "Tell them to deal with it on their own? I mean, it's not like they really need you."

I shook my head. "I can't, Elena. I'm already in too deep, anyway."

"Why not?" She asked, frowning.

"They're my family," I said simply with a shrug.

It'd been weeks since I'd had a conversation with Elena outside of texting. I missed her, I did, but it was strange, going back to my old life before all that Original drama. Elena seemed to think that the faster I got out of that mess, the better. But I couldn't just walk out. I didn't really want to. Elena always hated the supernatural world, hated how different it was compared to the ordinary, mundane life we led usually. She liked normal, embraced boring things like buying groceries and doing math homework.

Secretly, ever since I became involved in the world of vampires and fairies and the supernatural in general, I couldn't imagine my life going to back to before all of it. Back before I met Damon, when I still thought I was just psychic. I didn't _want _it to. I had no idea who I was, and I was alone. I had no family, except for my mom, but she never really counted. Now I was done with my identity crisis. I was Hailey Ellis, a badass fairy-vampire hybrid. And I had more family than I knew what to do with. I didn't want to go back to old Hailey.

Elena sighed, looking tired. "I just- I wish things were normal, you know? I want to go one day without vampires or witches or fairies or anything- I want normal."

I snorted. "Normal is way overrated, Elena."

She frowned up at me. "You mean, you don't want things the way they used to be?" she asked me disbelievingly.

"Yeah, basically," I said. "They won't be, so why wallow in the past? Nothing will ever be the same, Elena. You're a doppelganger and I'm a fairy, vampire, _and _a doppelganger. We're in love with vampire brothers and I'm related to the original families. I know you want normal, Elena, but I don't. I've never been normal. Normal is boring. Abnormal is where it's at."

I smirked at her, but Elena was still frowning at me. "You like it," she said. "You like the supernatural, the drama, the magic, and the near-death experiences. You revel in it."

I shrugged, unabashed. "Maybe," I said vaguely. "Or maybe I just know that my life sucked, and I don't want my afterlife to."

I realized how bad that sounded by the way Elena flinched, and I sighed. "I mean- okay, not all of it sucked. There were good parts. You, Damon, Ava, my friends. And I wish I had more time for that, for you. But, right now, I have to focus on my new life. And when everything's settled I'll return to you and Damon and high school and we can go back to as close to normal as we can get."

Elena nodded, but didn't look completely satisfied. "How about this," I added, in an attempt to get my best friend to forgive me. "One weekend. I'll give you one weekend, where I'll completely ignore the originals and focus on you. We'll do whatever you want. Okay?"

Elena perked up. "Yeah, okay." She stood up. "I'll call Caroline; see if there's anything going on tonight." She stood up to go call Caroline in the other room.

It was a bad time to be taking a break, but it'd be good for me. I was neglecting my friends, and Damon. And after I was done making it up to Elena, I could spend all night making it up to Damon.

The thought was enough to cheer me up.

_**~EL~**_

"No, Garrett, the point of the game is that you _want _to get the quarter into the cup."

Jace had been entrusted by Bella- who, frankly, scared him more than Elijah, who was never too far away from her- to take care of Joseph and Garrett. Get them introduced into the twenty first century, keep them out of trouble. He didn't mind, not in the slightest. Joseph and Garrett were cool guys, they were fun. The only downside to Bella's instructions was that Jace was no good at keeping out of trouble himself.

"But if you get the quarter into the cup, you don't get to drink," Garrett said slowly, confused. All three of them were sitting around a table, playing Quarters. Jace believed learning drinking games was essential in adapting to the culture of the current century. Plus, he was never one to pass up a chance to do shots.

"That's the point, Little Brother," Joseph said with a roll of his eyes.

"Then why am I playing this game, if It doesn't get me drunk," Garrett continued, frowning.

Jace laughed out loud. He liked his ancestors.

He had been in Mystic Falls for a few weeks, opting to sleep in one of the spare rooms of Fairy Mansion than in the Boarding House. He missed his friends, of course, but he had been pulled into this mess with the originals, and he couldn't be done with it until it was solved.

Over Garrett's shoulder, a waitress smiled at him. Jace had spent the previous night handcuffed to her headboard. He normally took control, but the waitress was a red head and crazy, and he was a sucker for those kinds of women. Plus, it was some of the best sex he had had in months. He smirked back at the waitress- what was her name? Kristie? Kristine? Kristina? - And the action didn't go unnoticed by Joseph, who was sitting next to him.

"Wasn't she the woman who you went home with last night?" He asked curiously, bouncing the quarter into the glass without even looking.

Jace smirked. "Yeah, it is. I think she dislocated my shoulder too." There was a burst of laughter from Garrett, causing the waitress to look back at Joseph. She smirked at him, her eyes practically undressing him. Joseph frowned and fidgeted.

"Why is she looking at me like that?" he muttered.

"I think she has- what do they call it? - a 'thing' for you, Brother," Garrett said, amusement in his voice.

Joseph's frown deepened. "But she just spent the night with Jace."

Jace shrugged, bounced the quarter, missed, swore, and took his shot swiftly. "That's how women are these days. Go for it, Joey. I won't hold anything against you. Just be careful, her handcuffs chaffed my wrists."

Joseph blinked slowly, trying not to imagine what Jace had described. "Don't call me Joey," he told him, making a face at the name. "And, I think I'll pass."

Jace frowned, but a look of comprehension made its way across Garrett's face. "Ah," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "Emily."

Jace looked from brother to brother. "Who's Emily?"

"My wife," Joseph said, a look passing over his face. "Or, she was my wife. She died a long time ago."

Married. Joseph was married. He had been twenty six when he died, and he had been married. Just five years older than Jace. He couldn't imagine getting married, tying himself down. It seemed very unpleasant.

Joseph smiled slightly, eyes lighting up when he remembered her. "I met her a few months after… everything happened. She was from a different village, had no idea what I was or what had happened. It was refreshing. She was refreshing. She was obnoxious, yes, very opinionated. Told me off the first time we met. She said whatever was on her mind, and I wanted to throttle her sometimes, but she was the best thing that ever happened to me. Emily."

Joseph was drunk. It was clear by the slow way he said his words, and why he was talking about his dead wife at all. His face darkened, and he reached for Garrett's drink. "She died giving birth to our first child. She never even got to hold her. At least Faith survived though. But then I died four years later and she was parentless."

Jace had the urge to tell Garrett to stop, but he didn't have it in him to. "You know, how they say you meet you loved ones when you die?" Joseph said, his voice barely a whisper. "It's all lies. I never saw Emily. A thousand years and I never once saw her."

"Hailey says only supernatural creatures and humans killed by them become ghosts," Jace said, almost dully. "Emily was none of those. She moved on."

"Then why didn't I?" Joseph's tone was demanding, but sad.

Jace met his gaze. "Because you didn't know that. You were waiting for her."

Their table went silent, and it wasn't until Garrett cleared his throat did Joseph look away from Jace. "This is why I don't drink with you, Joseph," he said lightly, teasingly. "Your drunk is depressing."

Joseph cracked half a smile, looking down at the table. His moment was over, no more terrible memories spilling out of his mouth. But there was still a dark look in his eyes, haunted almost. He chose not to say anything more, instead staring down at his drink thoughtfully.

Jace's phone started to ring in his pocket, and he fumbled first before managing to pull it out. "Yeah?"

"_Ooh, somebody sounds drunk. What a bad influence you are, Big Brother."_

Jace frowned. "Hailey? Weren't you in The Philippines or something?"

"_What? No, I was in Philadelphia, and I got back like two days ago," _Hailey said.

Jace shrugged. "Close enough."

"_No, not really."_

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Hails. What's up? What do you need?" He hadn't seen his sister lately, with him focusing more on the adaptation of the Eriksons into the 21st century and her spending a lot of time with Bella trying to get their powers back.

"_How drunk are you Jace?" _She asked, ignoring his questions. She didn't sound concerned or upset, more amused than anything.

"I'm not drunk!" he denied. "If you think I'm bad, you should see Garrett right now."

"Hey!" Garrett said, frowning at him.

"_You're drinking with Garrett right now?"_

"And Joseph," he added.

"_Bella's going to kill you for getting her brothers wasted," _Hailey said bluntly.

Jace shrugged. "It happens."

Hailey sighed but moved on. _"Whatever, it's your head she'll be ripping off."_

"It wouldn't be the first time I had a woman attempt to kill me, Hailey Anne," Jace said smugly. "And it certainly won't be the last."

"_You're disgusting."_

He smirked. "I know. I hate myself."

He could practically hear Hailey's eyes roll. _"Since we were on the topic of Bella," _She said. _"I need you to tell her that I'm going to be AWOL for a couple days."_

He frowned. "Why can't you do it yourself?"

"_Well, for one, I'm avoiding her," _Hailey said. _"And, for another, I'm hiding something from her, and the second Bella sees me she's going to know something's up. So I need you to play messenger for me."_

Jace sighed. "Yeah, fine, I guess I can."

"_And don't tell Bella that I'm hiding something from her."_

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

"_Thanks Big Brother," _Hailey said cheerfully. _"Catch you on the flip side."_

She hung up and Jace frowned, the alcohol fogging up his brain. He struggled to remember what he had agreed to. Then Garrett pushed a shot in front of him, and he shrugged before tossing it back with ease.

_**~EL~**_

The best thing about vampire sex was that you could be as rough as you want and not do any real damage. This was a good thing, because Damon and I hadn't been that gentle even when I was human.

He practically slammed me into the bookshelf, old and priceless books falling to the ground. His lips were on my neck, my jaw, and my shoulders. His hands were up my shirt, and my legs were around his waist. We had forty seven minutes until Elena would drive by to pick me up and take me to a party, and Damon had every intention to use up every minute. It was a shame, how fast my sex life had plummeted since the originals had returned to Mystic Falls. I had every intention to use every minute we had to change that.

I quickly flipped us around and slammed Damon into the shelf. There was a crash as trinkets fell and smashed on the ground. "This is why we can't have nice things, Hailey," Damon joked, slightly breathless.

Then his hands were back on my skin, his lips were on mine. I ripped his shirt off as quickly as I could, tugging at my own before Damon took control again. He lifted me up, my arms and legs wrapped around him as I kissed every inch of skin I could get at. I was set down on a rather flimsy table, my jeans being practically ripped off of my legs.

"There's a bed just up the stairs, you know," I told him, leaning on my arms. "And a couch just in the next room."

"No time," Damon said, his fingers sliding under my shirt, tugging it upwards. "Only forty minutes left."

I smiled, a laugh getting caught in my throat. It died away quickly when Damon pinned me beneath him and the rest of our clothes came off.

The table ended up collapsing under us, so we settled for the rug. Half an hour later, I was standing up and slipping on Damon's shirt. He frowned at me, sitting up as he watched me walk away.

"And where do you think you're going?' he called.

I smirked over my shoulder. "I have to get ready. You know, high school party in the grave yard to attend and all that."

"We still have ten minutes left!" he reminded me.

"And I smell like sex, so I have to take a shower."

"I'll join you." In a blur, Damon was standing in front of me, pressed against me in a way that sent shivers down my skin.

I smirked up at him. "I think I like the idea of that."

I stretched up on my tiptoes to kiss him, when the doorbell rang. Damon groaned, and I let out a sigh as I pulled away from him.

"Damn Elena and her earliness," I muttered, heading towards the front door, leaving Damon in a bitter mood behind me.

"If she wasn't your best friend I swear to God I'd kill her."

There was another ring as I made my way to the door. "I'm coming I'm coming," I muttered. "Jesus Elena, can't you just let yourself in?"

I yanked the door open, and instead of seeing my favorite doppelganger, I saw the littlest fairy.

I groaned. "I swear to God, I'm moving."

Halia batted her big brown eyes up at me. "Am I interrupting something?"

_**~EL~**_

"_Adora? Where are you?"_

Adora smirked, tossing back her blonde hair as she walked up the street. "New York City," she said. "What an ironic name- this city isn't new at all."

She could hear Bella's shock in her tone. _"You left Mystic Falls?"_

"It really wasn't hard," Adora said, rolling her eyes. "All of you were so caught up in making sure Halia doesn't scrape her knee I managed to slip out without drawing unwanted attention to myself."

"_But- why are you in New York?" _Bella seemed dumbfounded that Adora even knew what New York City was let alone how to get to it.

"Doing something you're incapable of, Sister," Adora said smoothly. "Getting things done."

To be fair, it was a lot easier to get things done when you had the spirits on your side, something Bella would never have. They despised her, all of them. The witches hated fairies and everything they stood for, and they saw Bella as the leader of all fairies, the symbol of them.

Not to her surprise, Bella wasn't thrilled about Adora wandering around on her own. She didn't trust her. _"When will you be back?" _Bella asked hesitantly, as if she was debating whether or not to go out there and drag her back by her thumbs.

Adora shrugged. "A day or two," she said vaguely. "Now, if you'll excuse me Bella, I have business to attend to."

"_Adora-"_

She hung up, her eyes going to the person at the end of the street, the person the spirits had tracked down for her. All because they told her that person would be essential in fixing The Problem.

"You, my friend, were not an easy person to find."

She turned around slowly, meeting Adora's gaze slowly. She raised an eyebrow at her, and Adora smirked. "I'm not supposed to be," she said, eyeing the fairy. "In fact, nobody has ever been able to find me."

In a blur, she had Adora pinned to the brick building behind them by her neck. Adora laughed out loud, the sound being strangled by the hand wrapped around her throat. "You really don't want to do that, Sweetheart," she gasped out.

The woman frowned, her nose wrinkling as she smelled something. She sighed suddenly, eyes lighting up in understanding. "You're a fairy," she said, before letting Adora go.

She watched Adora warily. "I worked with a fairy once, though she was crazy. Ended up killing herself. She tasted really good, though." She eyed Adora's neck. "Remind me why I shouldn't sink my teeth into your throat right now, Fairy."

Adora smirked up at her. "Pleasure to meet you, though I prefer to go by Adora," she said dryly.

The woman raised an eyebrow, as if she had heard her name before. "Adora…" she trailed off. "It rings a bell."

"As it should," she said proudly, lifting her chin. "I'm no ordinary, run-of-the-mill fairy. I'm an original."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Please, all of the originals died a thousand years ago."

"All except one," Adora corrected her, and her eyes flashed. "But we'll get to her later. I'm the real deal, Sweetheart. Adora Erikson, born so long ago even I don't remember."

"Prove it."

"I don't need to," she said haughtily. "You know I'm not lying. You're a world class liar, and liars can always spot a lie when they see one."

The woman stared at her, before her lip curled sarcastically. "It seems I'm in the presence of royalty then," she remarked dryly. "An original fairy. What an honor."

Adora smirked at her. "I heard about your sass. It was one of the reasons I knew we would be fast friends."

The woman rolled her eyes. "And what are the other reasons? What do you want from me exactly? Original or not, I'll still tear into your throat. I bet your blood tastes better than any other fairy I've tasted."

Adora ignored her. "I want your assistance in destroying my family- namely my sister."

"And why would I help you?" she drawled.

Adora smirked. "Because, Miss Petrova, you hate Bella almost as much as I do."

Katherine smirked back. "Can't argue with that."

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **I am so sorry for the wait guys! This chapter was more of a filler, to set up for the next few chapters.

_Next time on Eternal Love: Bella has strong words with both Ellis', Klaus tries to win the girl back, Halia goes to her first kegger, and Adora and Katherine raise a little hell._

Review!

~Abby :)


	38. Beggars Can't Be Choosers

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

_Beggars Can't Be Choosers_

"Not that I'm not flattered you went to me with your boy troubles, but isn't that what sisters are for? And don't you have three of those?"

Halia shook her head, her curls bouncing. "Gemma's moping around the house, acting miserable, and won't talk to any of us. Bella's always so busy with everyone else, I don't want to bother her. And Adora, well we don't get along, especially when it comes to Niklaus," she explained.

"You mean, the last time you tried to talk about boys with her she killed you?" I said dryly.

Halia sighed, running a hand over her face. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Hailey. I'll just let you get back to your life." She stood up and began to walk towards the door.

I blurred to the door before her, cutting her off. "Woah, Hallie, I didn't say you had to leave," I told her. "I'm supposed to go to this party with my friend, but if you want to, you can come along."

The idea of taking Halia to a party with kegs and beer pong and horny high school boys probably wasn't that smart, not when her big sister was the highest ranking officer of the fun police and her boyfriend would tear apart any man who so much as blinked at her. But Halia needed to get her mind off of the drama in her life, and I always found that the easiest way to do that was to get shit faced drunk.

Halia raised her eyebrows. "Party? What kind of party? Will it be fun?"

I smirked at her. "Well, I always enjoyed them."

She frowned slightly. "Would Bella approve of me going to this 'party'?"

"In no way, shape, or form," I told her honestly, smirk widening.

"Then I'm in."

I grinned. "Then you need different clothes," I said, already heading to my closet.

Halia frowned down at the dress she was wearing. "What's wrong with this? I think it's cute."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, Snow White. You look like you've spent the entire day in church. You go to a party dressed like that, and they'll eat you alive. A little thing all sweet and innocent and naïve like you, you need to look edgier or you won't stand a chance."

She shifted uncomfortably, and I softened. "Look, Hallie. You'll be fine. I won't leave you. When I say they'll eat you alive, I don't mean physically. I mean emotionally, mentally. These are just high school kids. The worst they can do is make you feel like shit about yourself. They won't do any actual bodily harm."

"If that's supposed to make me feel better," Halia said slowly, frowning. "It doesn't."

Shrugged. "In a few hours you'll be so drunk you won't even remember this conversation, so what does it matter?"

I started digging through my closet. "I think I have a skirt in here somewhere, but I'm not sure. Go get started on your makeup. The older you look, the better. And we're ditching the curls for tonight. They make you look like you're six years old."

Halia looked on warily. "I'm going to regret going with you tonight, aren't I?"

I smirked to myself as I picked a blue tank top out of the disaster that was my closet. "You came over here saying that you wanted me to distract you from Klaus, here I am supplying a distraction. Beggars can't be choosers, Hallie."

I threw her the outfit I had chosen for her- blue tank top, black miniskirt, and a leather jacket. She frowned at the clothes. "Are you sure? More of my skin is exposed than it's covered."

"That's the point," I told her. "Hurry up, I gotta go take a shower."

I headed towards the bathroom. Elena wouldn't be happy that Halia was crashing our "normal" weekend. But Halia thought she needed normal in her life, and I was hoping the party I was going to bring her to would convince her normal was exactly what she didn't need.

_**~EL~**_

"Bella, if you want to yell at me, can you please do it when I'm sober?"

Bella let out a huff of annoyance as Jace rubbed his temples. "I don't _want _to yell at you, Jace. What I want is for you to not get my brothers drunk in the middle of the day."

He smirked up at her. "Do you prefer a certain time of day? Because I'm open to suggestions, Bella."

The look she shot him wiped the smirk right off of his face. Jace cleared his throat and sat up straight. Bella terrified him, to his very core.

"There really is no difference between you and your sister, is there?" she muttered, letting out a sigh. "You're both infuriating and you don't _listen."_

"I think the prime difference between me and Hailey is that you scare the shit out of me. Hailey, on the other hand, won't openly admit she's afraid of you," he pointed out.

Bella frowned. "Speaking of Hailey, where is she? I've been calling her nonstop for days. I know Halia is back, so I'm assuming she is as well."

Jace nodded. "Yeah, she is. I talked to her earlier today. She said she's going to be unavailable for a few days, and told me to tell you that."

"Why couldn't she tell me herself?" Bella questioned.

Jace sighed, head pounding. "I don't know. Something about avoiding you and secret keeping, I don't really know." He paused, eyes widening. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you that."

"Hailey's hiding something from me?" Bella took a deep breath, her head starting to hurt. This was all spiraling out of control. She needed fresh air. What she really needed was a bottle of very strong alcohol, but she couldn't get drunk right after yelling at Jace and her brothers for doing the same thing.

Turning on her heels, Bella started towards the door, not giving Jace a second glance. She walked towards the living room, towards the one person in the world she would allow to see her lose control. Elijah looked up when she entered, and she closed the door promptly behind her.

Neither said anything, and Bella was breathing deeply, trying to calm herself down. "What happened?" Elijah asked finally.

"I'm struggling," she answered quietly, closing her eyes. "Struggling to keep control of the family, struggling to keep everyone together, struggling to keep everyone under control. And I'm failing. I'm failing, Elijah. Adora's in New York City, Klaus is one step away from killing everyone, Gemma and Rebekah are pouting, I haven't a clue what's going on with Finn and Kol, Joseph and Garrett are day drunks, led by our half-witch descendant, Adrian hasn't stopped punishing himself since he came back from the dead, and Halia is- I don't even know. I can't even spare time to find out how she's doing, how everyone is doing, because I'm too busy failing. Hailey's keeping secrets from me, she doesn't trust me. I don't even know how to go about getting my siblings' powers back, and I don't even know if I should. Why give a group of unstable fairies dangerous powers? And, to top it all off, I hear Adora's voice in the back of my head, constantly mocking me, telling me how much of a failure I am. And I can't shut it off. _I can't." _

She looked at him, like she always did. Elijah had been her rock for a thousand years, the one who held her together when she started to come apart. He expected this to come sooner or later, for Bella to crumble eventually under the stress she had forced upon herself. That's why she had him, to lessen the burden she forced herself to carry.

Elijah chose his words carefully, like he always did. He knew how to handle Bella when she was as emotional as she was at that moment. "I think your problem, Bella," he said slowly, looking up at her. "Is that you're forcing yourself to take responsibility for people you really shouldn't be. I once told you that your compassion and selflessness are two of your greatest traits, and I believe that to this day. But I also believe that they cripple you, and that you allow them to. For the lack of a better term, Bella, I think you're mothering our siblings, and the Ellis siblings. And I believe that if you continue to do so on this great a scale, it will continue to eat you away."

She frowned at him, her eyes narrowing in the way they did when she was debating whether or not to be offended by what he had to say. "What do you want me to do, then, Elijah? Not give a damn about them?" she asked bitterly. "I remember when I used to not give a damn about things; you weren't rather fond of me then."

Elijah frowned at her, and Bella sighed, knowing she had gone too far. Those years were something they had agreed not to discuss, a dark period for both of them. "I'm sorry," she whispered, eyes going to the floor. "But what do you think I should do, if you think I care too much about our family?"

He stood up, towering over Bella. Despite their height difference, Bella never felt small with Elijah. Her hands rested on his suit covered chest, and he seemed to relax under her touch. "Despite how they act sometimes, our siblings are grown adults and they can handle their own business until proven otherwise. I believe that until things get too out of control, it'd be best for everyone if you just let them be." She opened her mouth to argue, but he raised a hand to stop her. "Yes, we do have to get your siblings' powers back eventually, and I do think that Adora is someone we should watch carefully, but you need to resist the urge to mother, Bella."

Her eyes narrowed. "I can't help it, I am a mother. It's a natural instinct."

Her eyes widened slightly when she realized her mistake, and Elijah stiffened. She mentioned the dark period and their children within five minutes, two parts of their lives that were connected yet completely different at the same time. If talk about the twins made Bella depressed, it made Elijah cold, distant. It shut him down.

Bella was worried that was what was going to happen then, and she watched him warily as he blinked, exhaled slowly, and then finally relaxed. Then Elijah went on as if she hadn't spoken. "And, as for Hailey, she's a teenager. She's uncontrollable, so don't even bother to try. But, I promise you this, she _is _loyal to us, to you. I can tell. You may not agree with her actions and decisions, but whatever she's doing, it's not to purposely hurt you."

"Do we trust her, though?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think she's quite remarkable, despite her poor attitude," Elijah replied.

Bella smiled slightly. "As do I."

Elijah kissed her lightly on the lips, then on the forehead. It had been a habit of his ever since the earlier days of their relationship. "I love you, my Bella," he told her, before pulling away and walking towards the door.

She was still smiling when she turned to look at him. "Where are you going?"

"You're not the only one with family problems," he reminded her, teasing.

"Take your own advice, Elijah," she replied lightly, not seeming bothered in the slightest.

"I'm not mothering them," he corrected her.

"You're fathering them." Bella grinned at him, and it hurt his heart, thinking about how long it had been since he had seen her smile a real, genuine smile.

"It's a natural instinct," he teased her, and Bella scoffed. He quickly got out of her way before she could throw something at him.

"If you two are done flirting," a rather cold voice called. "I do believe we have business to attend to, Brother."

Klaus appeared in the doorway, his face void of any emotion as he addressed Elijah. "Well, then, if you're done here," he said, not even glancing at Bella. "Shall we be on our way?"

_**~EL~**_

"You said no originals, Hailey."

I sighed as Elena stared accusingly at me as we stood in the crowd of drunk teenagers. I made sure to keep Halia in the corner of my eye, so that I wouldn't lose her. "She's my family, Elena. What was I supposed to do?"

Elena just sighed and shook her head. "Whatever, Hailey." I watched her walk away from me, jaw dropping slightly.

"Elena, come back, okay? Don't be this way!"

"Are you fighting about me?"

Halia looked older when she didn't have ringlets framing her face and a flower printed dress grazing her knees. She looked in her twenties maybe, but that innocence that came with the wide eyes would never leave her. It was who Halia was. She was forever innocent, forever kind. And I admired that she accepted that.

But sweet little Halia was also unsteady on her feet. I could smell the cheap beer on her breath, and I let out a sigh. That had to be her second beer, and Halia was already drunk? I had a feeling she'd be a lightweight.

"Nah," I said, shrugging, deflecting the question. "How's the party treating you, Hallie?"

"Great!" her face lit up. "People in this century are so welcoming. Especially the men. They want my number, Hailey. They want to hook up with me. What number could they be wanting? And what's 'hooking up' exactly?" she frowned in confusion.

I sighed. I knew bringing Halia to this party would cause trouble. Just then, a boy who I recognized from the halls but didn't care enough about to know his name came up to Halia. "Hey, Hallie. A bunch of us are playing beer pong. You in?" he smirked at her, his eyes undressing her.

Halia grinned back, not noticing the way he stared at her. "Yes! I don't know what beer pong is, but it sounds interesting."

He laughed. "Your cousin is great, Hailey. Where is she from?" he asked me, but still looking at Halia.

"England," I answered bluntly, not liking the way he was looking at her.

"Great," he said vaguely, his hand sliding up to Halia's waist. "Coming, Hallie?"

I gripped his wrist and slammed him against a nearby tree. "Watch your hands, Rick. She's taken," I told him bluntly.

"It's Ryan," he sputtered out drunkenly, eyes widening.

"Sure it is," I said, releasing him. "Now go away."

He was gone, and turned back to Halia, who was frowning at me. "Who am I taken by?" she asked me, arms crossed over her chest.

I rolled my eyes. "I think we should get you out of here, Halia. This was a bad idea."

She didn't budge. "Answer me, Hailey."

"You know damn well who," I snapped.

She glared at me. "I'm not Niklaus', alright? I don't belong to him."

"Look," I said. "I don't know what happened between you two, okay? I don't know what makes you want to go out and get drunk and get hit on by creepy high school guys, but all I know is that Klaus Mikaelson waited a thousand years to raise you from the dead because he loved you that damn much. Now if that's not dedication, I don't know what is. And I know you love him too. And I know what it's like to be in love with the bad guy, and I know for someone like you, it's not something easy to swallow. But just, please Halia, stop using me as a distraction and just face

She stared blankly at me. "I think I need a refill."

I groaned. "Fine, do whatever you want. I'm gonna go get really drunk right now, okay?"

I walked away from her. Stubbornness definitely ran in the family.

_**~EL~**_

Her last conversation with Niklaus made Halia either want to rip her hair out or cry. She couldn't tell. So instead she continued to drink the rancid beverage called beer and lean her head against the tree.

"_I need you, Halia."_

She exhaled sharply. How it must've killed him, to admit that. She wasn't sure she knew this Niklaus well, but human Niklaus hated relying on people.

"_How can I get you to forgive me? Just tell me and I'll do it- I'll do whatever you want, just please-" he cut himself off._

"_It's not that simple, Niklaus," she told him. "You can't undo the past."_

"_It can't just end like this," he said then, jaw tightening. "I won't let it. I'll-"_

"_You'll what?" she asked sadly. "Hold me against my will? Force me to stay with you when I can't even look you in the eye? Is that what you do now? Force people to be your friends so you won't be alone?"_

She hated what she had said to him, even though it had to be true.

"_Halia… I love you. I do." _

And she knew it was true. He did. And it hurt because she loved him too.

"_I'm sorry, Niklaus. I can't. I'm sorry."_

And the look on his face when she walked away would break Halia's heart for the rest of her life.

So Halia continued to drink because it numbed her heart, or at least it felt like it did.

_**~EL~**_

It was half past two when I pulled Halia into the original mansion, her head rolling onto my shoulder. When I finally found her again at the party, she was completely wasted. It was then I decided to get her home.

"I don't feel so good, Hailey," she moaned as I half-dragged her into the house.

"Yeah, wait until you wake up tomorrow," I muttered.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Halia whined.

"Oh God, please don't throw up on my boots."

"Where are we?" Halia straightened suddenly, as if completely forgetting she needed to throw up.

"Your boyfriend's house," I told her dryly. "I figured I'd have less of a chance running into your sister here."

"Is Niklaus here?" she asked me, her words slurring together.

"I'm not sure," I said, pulling her towards the living room.

"I want to talk to him, Hailey. I _need _to talk to him."

"Nuh-uh-uh, nope, not happening. Friends don't let friends visit their estranged lovers when they're completely shit faced," I told her.

"But-" she started to argue, before cutting herself off. "Oh, I feel sick again, Hailey."

"What's going on here?"

When Klaus entered the room, Halia's face lit up. When Klaus saw Halia, he almost flinched. But then he probably smelled the alcohol on her before he noticed her sloppy movements. "Is she drunk?"

I shrugged. "More or less."

"More, by the looks of it," he said dryly.

"Oh, Niklaus, I've been looking for you!" she exclaimed suddenly, dashing towards him. Halia made it two feet across the room before stumbling forward and losing her balance. Klaus blurred to her and caught her in his arms before she face planted.

"Easy there, Love," he told her, and Halia seemed to melt into him.

She smiled at him. "I've been looking for you," she repeated.

He frowned at her, conflicted, before he looked back at me. "I can take her," he told me.

"You sure?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "You don't have to."

"It's fine," he said gruffly, before swinging her up into his arms. She giggled as he did. "Bella will be tearing the flesh from your bones as soon as she discovers you got Halia drunk, anyway."

I pursed my lips. "Yeah, that's not going to go over well."

He almost smirked. "May my sister-in-law have mercy on your soul."

Then Klaus was gone, and I was left to see myself out.

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **We'll get some Klalia, some Kemma, some drama, some more drama, some violence, and some actual plot development *gasps* all coming up soon.

Thank you for reviewing!

Review!

~Abby :)


	39. Trust

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

_Trust_

When I woke up the next morning with a hangover and Damon's arm around me, I forgot the current drama building up in my life. I forgot about my ancestors and the prophecy and everything else. When I woke up that morning, I felt human. And I didn't expect to enjoy that feeling as much as I did.

The truth was, I really didn't mind how complex my life had become, and I really didn't. In fact, I may have enjoyed it a bit too much. But there were moments when I wished I could go back to when I was human. It sounded weird, mostly because I hated being human with a burning passion, and near the end of my human life, things were almost as complicated as they are now, just not on such a large scale. But that morning, I missed it. I missed my friends, I missed Damon. I hated that most of my time was spent with the originals, and that I didn't get to spend any real moments with Damon anymore. It sucked.

I would allow myself about five minutes every now and then to bitch about just how much it sucked, and then I'd suck it up and move on with my life. But that morning, I gave myself those five minutes.

"Damon?" I asked, raising my head off of his shoulder and brushing my hair out of my face.

He didn't even bother to open his eyes. "What?" he mumbled, sounding annoyed that I was interrupting his beauty sleep.

"Don't you ever just wish that life was as simple as it used to be? You know, when I was human? Don't you ever miss that?" I asked, propping my elbows on my pillow and resting my chin on my hands.

"You mean when we were being hunted down one by one by the psycho tomb vamps and you and I hated each other one week and were madly in love the next?" he clarified, finally looking at me.

I nodded. "Yeah, that."

"No, not really. You?"

"Yeah, I do. Sometimes I do," I admitted.

"Well, that's kind of sad," Damon muttered, rolling over onto his side. I frowned and hit him.

"Oh, sorry. I meant that's really sad."

"Ass," I muttered, sitting up and moving to get out of our bed. Damon sighed and grabbed my arm to prevent me from leaving. He pulled me towards him and pinned me beneath him on the mattress.

"Look, Hailey. Life isn't so bad right now. Yeah, it sucks I have to share you with the original fairies or whatever the hell they call themselves, but it's not so bad, I guess. At least not yet. I think you like yourself better now than you did when you were human. And I feel better that you're virtually indestructible," Damon said, his fingers entwining themselves in my hair.

"What about you?" I asked softly. "Do you like me better now?"

"I think you've become even a bigger pain in the ass." He smirked at me, and I raised my hand to hit him again. He easily caught my wrist, and grabbed my hand. Our fingers entwined almost automatically. "I still love you either way, Hails. Human or Vampire. You'll always be the same pain in the ass fairy to me."

"Good answer." I kissed him approvingly, and used his distraction to flip us over. I ran my hands through his hair, and Damon wrapped an arm around my waist.

"How about I make you a deal?" Damon mumbled against my neck, and his lips felt like fire against my bare skin.

"Ooh, I like deals," I purred, smirking. I pulled his face gently upward so that his lips could meet mine again.

"When all of this is over, I'm going to take you to a very small island no one's ever heard of, and we'll stay there for fifty years and never be bothered by anyone, meaning your family. Sounds good?"

I grinned against his lips. "Sounds great."

Damon flipped us over again, and brought my leg up to his hip. Just as he was about tear away what little fabric I had on, my phone rang.

We both groaned at the same time. "Do we have to wait before running off to this island?" I muttered, reaching towards my phone, which was residing on the nightstand.

"What?" I said, accepting the call.

"_Bad time?"_

I frowned a little. "Of course not, Bella. What do you need?"

"_I think we need to meet, Hailey. Catch up on things. Let's meet at my siblings' house at, say, around noon or so. Will that work for you?_

"Yeah, I guess so."

"_Great, see you then."_

Bella definitely knew something was up.

_**~EL~**_

Halia had never been hung over in her life.

And if the pounding in her head and the sick feeling in her stomach was anything to go by, she wasn't missing much.

Her brown eyes opened slightly, only to meet the bright, burning light. She hissed and hastily shielded her eyes by burying her face in a nearby pillow. Something seemed off to Halia. The bed seemed too familiar. The scent that she inhaled was one she would most likely never forget; Acrylic and whiskey.

Her eyes snapped open, and Halia sat up so fast it unsettled her already queasy stomach even more. Her eyes went instantly to the figure sitting in the chair diagonally across from her. Klaus.

Halia groaned and fell backwards against the bed. He saw her last night. She couldn't remember much of it. Only that she _needed _to see him. Halia could only imagine what she blurted out to him. Just the possibilities made her want to die.

"You finally awake?"

His voice was cold, hard, stiff. No warmness. No hint of amusement. No term of endearment stuck on at the end. Despite Halia's claims of Klaus being different, this was her first real experience with the different Klaus, with the monster, with the man everyone was terrified of.

Halia nodded slowly, big eyes widening even more than usual. She slowly got out of his bed, walking slowly to remain stable on her feet. She smoothed out her wrinkled-beyond-repair clothes and offered him the kindest smile she could muster when she was as hungover and embarrassed as she was.

"Thank you," Halia murmured, tossing her ruined curls over her shoulders. "For- for taking care of me, I suppose-"

"Spare me, Halia." Klaus was in front of her in the blink of an eye, and she jolted back. "I think it best that you just leave."

She frowned at him. "I'm just trying to thank you, Niklaus. You helped me last night, and I appreciate-"

"I took pity on you, Halia," he told her, his voice cold, void of any emotion. "That's all."

She inhaled sharply. "You don't have to be rude, Niklaus."

"Don't I?"

Halia gritted her teeth, feeling anger boil in her blood. He was trying to get under her skin, to get her angry, to hurt her feelings. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to hurt me, to convince me you don't love me anymore. Please stop, Niklaus."

"I'm not trying anything, Halia." He turned away from her, and Halia was suddenly aware of their height difference. She felt so small compared to him, especially at that moment. "You just don't recognize me, now that I've stopped pretending to be something I'm not for you. You said it yourself, Halia. I'm not the man you fell in love with. So why even bother act like he still exists?"

She should have expected this. Klaus always acted out when he was hurt, like a wounded animal. And she hurt him. She hated hurting people, and she hated hurting him even more. But Halia wouldn't let him treat her like this. It wasn't fair of him.

"Contrary to my belief, and yours," She said slowly, trying to contain her anger as she spoke. "You're still quite the same as you were when you were human. I realize that now. You wish to know why?"

"Enlighten me, Halia," he said dryly, looking back down at her.

"When people hurt or disappoint you even once, you lose all patience with them and act like they never meant anything to you in the first place. It's a defense mechanism. But if you think you get to get away with treating me the way you are, you have another thing coming, Niklaus."

_You're a coward. _She didn't dare say it, but the unspoken words still hit him squarely in the heart. He knew she was thinking it, that the three words were hidden beneath her other ones. _You're a coward. _And she was right, whether she meant to be or not. He was a coward. Halia represented all his fears- rejection, loneliness, weakness - and, being the coward that he was, he had to keep those fears far away from himself. So he wanted to hurt her and to make her hate him. She was right. It was a defense mechanism.

Halia barely spared him another glance as she brushed past him. He wished she would yell at him, scream at him, hate him. He wished she ran out and slammed the door behind her. But she didn't, of course she didn't.

Of all the people in the world to symbolize all of his fears and all of his hopes, Halia was equally the best person and the worst person to do so.

_**~EL~**_

"I know you're keeping secrets from me, Hailey."

Bella didn't even give me time to take my jacket off before getting straight to the point of the meeting. She was sitting on the couch, looking elegant yet completely terrifying at the same time. Gemma had mentioned once that when Bella was human, she was clumsy and goofy and about as unintimidating as it got. But now, Bella was regal and confident and formidable. She always sat straight and held her chin high. She looked you in the eye when she talked to you. Her hair was always in perfect waves, her makeup applied flawlessly. She wore expensive dresses and prowled around in stilettos like it was her job. Bella was the only person I knew who could look at you like you were her own child and yet rip your heart out the next moment. She was a queen in her own right.

Not that I would ever tell her just how much she scared me.

"Of course you do," I muttered, sitting down across from her.

"So, then, do yourself and myself a favor and tell me." Her gaze was steady and she didn't once raise her voice, but I was more afraid of her at that moment than I ever was of my own mother, who yelled and screamed and sometimes even hit me.

I let out a sigh. "So, you know when Halia and I went to Philadelphia to meet with the Prophetess a few days ago?"

Bella nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Well, we went there for a specific reason. My ghost accomplice Ava heard rumors that there was a prophecy about our family and what was to come. So I went there and Halia invited herself on the road trip. I met the Prophetess- Adelina- and she was a whole new kind of crazy."

"Most Prophets are," Bella said not unkindly, her eyes crinkling with light amusement.

"Right, well she was going on and on about how it was me and how this prophecy wasn't even really a prophecy and then she was gunned down."

Bella stiffened visibly. "Are you alright? Is Halia alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She's good. I made sure there wasn't a scratch on her when we came back. And I had a few bullets in me but I'm fine."

"That's good." She relaxed before frowning. "Who-?"

"We don't know," I answered her unasked question. "But I intend to find out."

"Did you lose the prophecy?" she asked me, and I smirked at her.

"What do you think, Bella?" before she could answer, I reach across the table and grabbed her hands. Then, like Adelina had given the prophecy to me, I gave it to her.

Bella's breath hitched. She blinked slowly, and the prophecy fell from her lips like a whisper.

"_Two families, both the first of their kind, are joined by love and hate, life and death. Both will return to this world and bring light and darkness to it. But a force, the most powerful kind existing, threatens to destroy them and their entire race. One, a mix, descending from both families, will either be their salvation or their destruction, their becoming or their undoing."_

Her hands fell from mine slowly, and for the first time since I've known her, Bella looked afraid. She shook her head slowly, as if trying to clear it.

We were both silent for a few minutes, as Bella got her thoughts together. "Why- why didn't you tell me this sooner?" she whispered, eyebrows still furrowed.

I shrugged. "I just- ugh." I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. "This is going to sound really cheesy, but just bear with me. I want you to trust me. And I thought if I came to you with a solution instead of a problem, you'd trust me more. Besides, I thought I could handle it on my own without you. That's why I didn't tell you right away."

Bella sighed and shook her head. "I do trust you, Hailey. Don't you get that? If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't let you within a mile of my brothers and sisters."

I raised an eyebrow. "I know Adora was saying stuff to you about how you couldn't trust me. You can honestly say you don't believe her."

Bella snorted. "Please, I trust you a hundred times more than I trust Adora. The bloody woman ran off to New York yesterday and didn't even bother to tell me."

"That's not what I asked."

Bella sighed. "Hailey, I trust you. Believe me, I do. And Adora is trying to get to me. She wants revenge, because I killed her. And she knows how powerful you are and sees you on my side as a threat, so she's trying to get one of us to turn on the other. That's all."

I nodded slowly. "Okay, I believe you." I paused for a second and took a deep breath. "And, just so you know, I trust you too."

She smiled slightly and I cleared my throat. "If we're done with the warm and fuzzy moment, we should discuss this prophecy and what it means," I said, leaning into the couch I was sitting on.

"Well, it's fairly easy to dissect, if you think about it," Bella said, straightening herself. "The two families would be the Eriksons and the Mikaelsons- both the originals, both connected by many different things. The force- what is the most powerful thing on this earth?"

"If you say love I may shoot myself," I muttered.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Please Hailey. This isn't a Disney movie. The most powerful force on this earth is magic. It's what's threatening us."

"That's great, really narrows the source of the threat down," I muttered, looking up at Bella. "Then who's either the savior or the great enemy?"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, isn't it obvious, Hailey? As the prophetess said, many times, it's you."

_**~EL~**_

"The witch called back, she said she knows no way of finding out what is inside the coffin without opening it."

Klaus didn't bother to look up when Elijah walked into the living room. "It doesn't really matter though, does it? We both know exactly who is in that coffin, Elijah. Do you really think I would drag a coffin around with me for nine hundred years and not know who is inside of it?"

"I think you thought you knew who it was, and you'd rather be safe than sorry," Elijah answered. He leaned against the doorway as he regarded his brother.

Elijah had known for centuries about the mystery coffin Klaus hid in the deepest parts of their home, hoping it would never be discovered. He never paid much attention to it or paid it much thought, but now, with everything going on and the mystery of the fairies being raised from the dead, the identity of the coffin became more crucial. The brothers had petitioned a witch to try to figure out just exactly what they were dealing with, to confirm their worst fears.

Opening the coffin was not an option. Niklaus definitely did not want her getting out, not with all the secrets she held. And Elijah didn't want her running around with the grudge she held against his Bella. So the brothers allied themselves to get to the bottom of the mysterious coffin.

Klaus finally looked up at Elijah. "Does it really matter then, whoever is actually in that damned coffin? Even if there is a chance it isn't her, we can't risk someone opening the coffin and awaking a thousand year old ghost. We should just dispose of it and move on. Like you said brother, I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Klaus was in a foul mood, Elijah could tell. He had been ever since Halia left him. Niklaus raised an eyebrow at his older brother. "Does your wife know exactly what we're up to? I'm surprised she hasn't weighed in yet."

Elijah frowned. "Bella has more than her fair share of complications to deal with at this moment." He knew he'd get an earful when he did eventually tell her- Bella hated being kept out of the loop- but it would be worth the lecture on honesty and communication. "Besides, we both know where she would stand on the issue."

Klaus smirked. "Yes, she'd want to set the thing on fire and then bury its ashes in concrete. She did loathe the woman, after all."

And she loathed Bella back just as much. That's why Elijah couldn't risk the coffin being opened and the demons within setting their sights on his wife. "She did despise fairies," Elijah agreed. That's another reason they couldn't risk her getting out. She would instantly go for the Eriksons.

Klaus raised his eyebrows. "And you want to protect the Eriksons from her?" It was more of an observation than a question.

"Yes, I do." Elijah nodded once.

"You choose them over her?" Klaus didn't sound judgmental, just curious.

"I do. They're my family, brother. And they're yours as well," Elijah told him calmly, watching him stiffen and straighten himself.

Klaus smirked humorlessly. "If you want to talk about Halia, brother, just say your piece and move on."

"What do you want me to say about her, Niklaus?" Elijah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing at all. I do not want to talk about her." Klaus sat up and went to walk out of the room, but Elijah didn't move out of his way.

"What did you honestly expect, Niklaus? You know Halia and what she values. Did you expect her to be grateful that you've murdered and sacrificed over hundreds of vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies, and humans alike all to get her back?"

Klaus gritted his teeth. "Yes, I imagine that both you and Bella are glad that Halia wants nothing to do with a monster like me."

"On the contrary brother, all Bella wants is for Halia to be safe and happy. And since Halia is quite miserable right now, Bella is hoping for a reconciliation. And I've always supported you and Halia, brother. You may not be the best thing for her, but she is definitely the best for you. So you cannot blame your mistakes and your stubbornness on anyone but yourself, Niklaus. Not this time."

_I pity you. _Klaus knew Elijah didn't say it, but he could hear the phrase echoing in his ears.

Elijah gave Klaus a look that matched the unsaid thought before he walked away from his brother.

_I pity you, Niklaus._

_**~EL~**_

**A/N: **so I suck, I haven't updated in two months. But I'm currently working on outlining the rest of this story, so I promise to update more this summer.

Thanks for reviewing!

~Abby :)


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